There have been a number of internet investigators and fraudsters scouring the details of the proposals to determine whether or not there are any companies that are using PPP loans fraudulently as a ploy to steal money from small businesses in the United States.

It is a program that identifies fraudulent activity related to PPP loans using the site Pppdetective.com. In spite of this, is PPP Detective a legitimate service? As a matter of fact, many people are interested in finding out whether or not the website itself is a scam.

All About PPP?

As a minimum, you must know at least the basics of PPP before you can describe the operation of the website. As part of the Covid-19 pandemic that has been triggered by the United States government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, is an excellent initiative, which will be implemented in 2020. This program is designed to assist self-employed people, in particular, nonprofit organizations, sole proprietors, and small businesses in managing their operations efficiently and paying their employees in the same way that they do every day.

Those who qualify for the PPP program can get low-interest loans to help them manage payroll expenses and other business expenses.

PPP Detective Legit- An overview:

Do you know about the website Pppdetective.com? Have you heard of it before? It is important to find out why the website has been created if you have not already done so. On the site, it is stated that Brian Hamachek is the only individual who owns and operates the website, according to the information provided on the site. In accordance with reports, Brian Hamachek decided to start this website after looking through the complete PPP loan list for the city he lives in, which was available on the city’s website. According to him, after reviewing this list of loans, certain loans seemed odd to him and he felt that there was something wrong with them, since he knew that some businesses have been swindling their employee’s numbers, which made him feel that something was wrong with all of these loans. Moreover, some of these companies never existed in the first place. Nevertheless, if PPP Detective is a legit service, how much does it cost? The news coverage during the development of this website gave him the impression that it was easy for him to spot the fraudulent activities since the firms were located in his city. The PPP Detective Portal, which is available to users, allows them to view loan details associated with each business, and if they discover anything unusual, they are able to report it directly to the SBA.

What is the reliability of PPP? Investigate PPP?

As part of the process of assessing the legitimacy of the site, several important pieces of information were found. The first thing to take into account is that the site is not more than six months old. A domain ID was created on the 25th of March 2021, which was the first day of registration. Furthermore, is PPP Detective a legitimate service? As a result of this, it was not possible to collect the trust scores of US citizens during this time period. It has been reported that it only has a two percent trust rating from the sources that we used. As a side note, some users think that the site is excellent, but the majority are dissatisfied with the service.

Fraudulent PPP loans: Is it as bad as it seems?

It might not seem like a big deal at first glance when it comes to PPP loan fraud. During the pandemic, the program was developed in order to help businesses stay afloat. Wouldn’t it be great if some of the funds didn’t go exactly where they were intended to go? 

A PPP loan is a loan provided by a bank or lender that is intended to be forgiven. There is no guarantee that someone can simply siphon off Coronavirus aid funds into their bank accounts when they commit fraud.

Billions of dollars were swindled by scammers who wanted money to make a quick buck off hard-working Americans. Fraudsters sometimes used stolen identities and were even foreign hackers.

To give you a sense of the scale of PPP fraud, here are just a few facts:

  • At least one indication of possible fraud was found in more than 15% of PPP loans. The New York Times reported that approximately 1.8 million of the 11.8 million loans made under the PPP showed signs of fraud, according to an academic working paper cited by the paper.
  • There is an estimate that $76 billion worth of PPP loan money has been taken illicitly by researchers. This is almost 10% of the nearly $800 billion budget that is allocated to the program.
  • PPP loans made by fintech lenders had the highest rate of suspicious activity. Around 29% of all PPP loans were made by financial lenders – called fintechs – but more than half of the suspicious loans to borrowers were made by financial lenders.

At the end of the day, these numbers are just estimates of how much money borrowers shouldn’t have received. It is likely that we will never be able to determine the true amount of fraud associated with PPPs. 

Scammers of PPP loans: What happens to them?

You are defrauding the federal government, as well as the Treasury Department, by taking out a fraudulent PPP loan. They are taking these offenses seriously, and you can be sure that they aren’t taking them lightly either. 

It has been reported that the U.S. federal government has cracked down hard on several pandemic fraud cases that are targeting relief programs like the PPP and Unemployment Insurance (UI).

According to the Department of Justice, as of March 26, 2021:

  • The government and unsuspecting individuals were defrauded of more than $569 million by 474 defendants.
  • An additional 22 individuals have been charged in connection with a fraud scheme involving $11 million in PPP payments [*].
  • A 46-year-old man was sentenced to two years in prison for committing a fraud scheme involving COVID-19 relief [*].
  • It was reported that a Texas man pled guilty to obtaining government-guaranteed loans worth over $1.6 million.

As far as fraudulent PPP loan frauds are concerned, even celebrities have been called out and sometimes even charged. As part of this list, celebrities such as Kanye West (for his clothing and sneaker brand, Yeezy), Reese Witherspoon (for her clothing brand, Draper James) and others have been featured.

While those celebrities have not been found to have used their PPP loans fraudulently, there are others who have been found to have done so. 

Mo Fayne, the former Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star and rapper who was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison and ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution, has been sentenced to prison. NFL star Josh Bellamy was arrested on Friday for allegedly taking part in a PPP fraud scheme in which more than $24 million in loans were applied for by people.

It is a shocking fact that PPP loans are subject to fraud on such a large scale. The Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Nicholas L. McQuaid, has this to say on the issue:

The message I would like to convey to anyone thinking of using the current global pandemic as an opportunity to scam and steal from hardworking Americans is simple – do not do it. No matter where you are or who you are, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

PPP Loan Fraud: Can Criminals Use Your Identity?

In a PPP scam, one of the scariest aspects is that scammers often use stolen identities to cover their tracks when they apply for fraudulent loans. This is one of the scariest aspects of PPP fraud. 

A number of scammers from Russia, China, and Nigeria have stolen identities and used them to apply for billions of dollars in fraudulent benefits across the world, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General has received more than 750,000 referrals from individuals suspected of identity theft associated with the PPP program.

The following are some ways hackers exploit benefit programs:

  1. The criminals purchase large quantities of personal information, such as names, addresses, birthdays, Social Security numbers, and other information, out of the Dark Web. In some cases, they steal this information from recent data breaches. 
  2. Using already weak online systems, they apply for fake loans or unemployment benefits.
  3. As a result of some hacker groups flooding online systems with a brute-force attack of fake online claims, they are able to siphon off millions of dollars from the system.
  4. In addition, hackers took advantage of a retroactive relief program available to contractors that allowed for up to $20,000 in fraudulent relief funds to be stolen with a single stolen identity.
  5. Several hackers used online payment services like Cash App or Venmo to transfer money to Bitcoins and to transfer them out of the country in order to commit fraud.

As a result of pandemic-based fraud, some experts believe that tens of billions of dollars have been sent out of the country.

If You’ve Been the Victim of Criminal Identity Theft, Here’s What You Should Do

It is possible for someone to commit criminal identity theft without even being aware of it. If a scammer gets access to enough of your personal information online – either through a data breach, buying it from the Dark Web, phishing attacks or other scams – they can use it to commit fraud on your PPP loan. 

If you suspect that your identity might have been stolen, follow these steps:

  1. In order to avoid identity theft, it is important to look out for warning signs. These include unfamiliar charges, missing mail, strange messages, and being locked out of your account.
  2. Report it to the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov to dispute any fraudulent loans or charges you received. You’ll also receive a recovery plan.
  3. It is important for you to file a police report with your local law enforcement agency if a criminal has committed crimes using your name in order to prevent them from doing so. 
  4. Your bank needs to be notified of the fraud, and then you need to work with them to secure or close your compromised accounts. Identity thieves often have access to your financial accounts. Notify your bank of the fraud and work with them to secure or close your accounts. If you are experiencing PPP fraud, please report it to your lender and contact them as soon as possible. 
  5. Secure all your online accounts with strong, unique passwords that combine letters, numbers, symbols, and cases to prevent future identity theft. 
  6. Make sure you have enabled two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication on your accounts (but not SMS). Two-factor authentication adds an additional layer of security to your accounts. Instead of SMS, use an authentication app like Google Authenticator or Okta instead.
  7. It is a good idea to set up a password manager. This is a piece of software that will save and remember all your passwords so that you can use stronger ones without worrying about forgetting them.
  8. Alert the credit bureaus and set up credit monitoring to be alerted of any further suspicious activity and prevent future fraud. Freeze your credit and set up fraud alerts.‍
  9. Keeping your devices and networks safe requires antivirus software and Wi-Fi protection. Hackers often install malware on your devices to steal your information.‍
  10. Invest in identity theft protection. Aura can handle many of the steps above proactively, and a $1,000,000 insurance policy will cover eligible losses if you are the victim of family identity theft.

Reporting Paycheck Protection Program Fraud

If someone takes out a fraudulent loan in your name or takes out government benefits in your name, then it is much harder for you to obtain the financial assistance you need to survive.

You can contact the SBA by calling its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at 800-767-0385 if you have been a victim of identity theft that resulted in PPP fraud or know of someone who has abused the program.

While the Paycheck Protection Program has ended, there will likely be more cases of PPP fraud discovered, some of which may even be in your name if a criminal has committed identity theft. 

If you see signs of identity theft, act quickly before scammers can cause damage to your identity. And for added protection, you may want to consider identity theft protection. 

What is the latest PPP loan news?

Since the opening of the Paycheck Protection Program’s loan portal on January 11, 2021, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved $35 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to new government data released by the agency. It is significant to note that this number refers to 400,580 round two loans made between January 24, 2021, and June 24, 2021.

Who is qualify for SBA PPP loans?

There must be less than 500 employees in your business, as well as less than 7.5 million dollars in revenue on average each year over the past three years for your business. There must be less than $5 million in net income for you (after taxes and do not count any carry-over losses), and under $15 million in tangible net worth for you.

Note Who is eligible for SBA PPP loans?

There is a newly launched application portal on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) website that should make the process easier for borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from participating lenders that are less than $150,000 to apply for forgiveness directly from the SBA ppp.

About the PPP Loans in 2022

The victims of the pandemic, such as employees, owners, independent contractors, and self-employed businesses, will all have access to a prescribed limit with the total budget assigned for PPP reaching up to $10 million for those who have borne the brunt of the pandemic. PPP Loans 2022 are SBA unforgivable loans available under section 7(a) in an emergency.

PPP amendments

In the latest amendment to the PPP Flexibility Act of 2020, the PPP is allowed a full or partial permission of 60 percent, which is used for payroll, and 40 percent refundable, which is used for mortgage interest rate, rent, and a portion of utility costs.

Until the SBA remits the forgiven amount to your lender, the PPP loan could be deferred for 6 months (as specified earlier). Unless you are seeking forgiveness for your debt, your payment can be deferred for a period of 10 months. There was no requirement for collateral, and the lender was given two years to pay back the loan. Afterward, the rate was raised to 1% for five years at the same fixed rate as before.


Application of PPP

 The Small Business Administration has decided to stop accepting applications for PPPs due to a lack of funds. In response to the PPP, lenders expressed hesitation, stating they needed further guidance from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the US Treasury before processing the loan.

It was authorized to issue loans to thousands of banks around the world. As a result, several SMEs that were financially impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic were having difficulty applying for PPPs through the online portals that were open to them by the banks. It is also imperative to note that many banks require a prior customer relationship with a prospective borrower before they will accept the loan application. In addition, it was not possible to track the status of the application at all banks within the country at the time. So, a list of PPP assistance providers as prescribed and approved by SBA 7 (a), who were authorized to accept the application.

How I Look SBA loan investigation list of recipients

Checking the status of an existing SBA loan account. In addition to monitoring the status of various loan types, existing borrowers can access the SBA Capital Access Financial System (CAFS) (caweb.sba.gov) to monitor the progress of the following loan types: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) All SBA disaster loans, including COVID-19 EIDLs and physical loss loans. SBA has made public recipient data available for EIDL grants, EIDL loans, and PPP loans.

Look at a most popular PPP loan meme

Y'ALL GOT ANY OF THEM PPP LOANS LEFT? Thet was fast

Conclusion:

There is a streamlined approach to reporting and detecting fraud in PPP loans that has been developed by the PPP Detective Portal. There seems to be a bit of a hiccup with the website since it is relatively new and has not been able to catch up with the hype yet. In accordance with the reports on PPP and users’ comments on Reddit, the site received mixed comments regarding the legitimacy of Ppp Detective as well. According to reports on the site. As well as that, you should also be aware of ways in which fraud can be prevented. Is this a website you have been to before? We would like to hear about your experience. Thank you.