The General Services Administration (GSA) is warning the public to verify correspondence with GSA vendors after receiving reports of malicious actors claiming to be associated the agency.
According to an alert from the agency, fraudulent companies are masquerading as GSA vendors and exploiting concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus in order to dupe consumers into paying inflated prices for “products associated with COVID-19.”
“A customer agency notified GSA of an email they received from a company representing itself as a GSA contract holder marketing hand sanitizers and cleaning chemicals at exorbitant prices. However, the company’s name does not appear in the list of GSA contractors and the GSA contract number referenced in the email is assigned to a different company,” a GSA spokesperson told MeriTalk.
The agency recommends that if contacted by a supplier claiming to be a GSA vendor, individuals should verify the vendor through GSA Advantage or the GSA eLibrary vendor database. “Even if information seems credible, take a moment to verify,” GSA advises.
Agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General have also released fraud alerts to warn consumers about COVID-19 scams. Earlier this week, the Department of Justice filed its first COVID-19 fraud enforcement action.
