Government Assistance Programs for Small Businesses and Consumers
The passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides several beneficial aid programs for both businesses and consumers, including:
- Paycheck Protection Program: Small businesses and other organizations with under 500 employees, as well as individuals who are self-employed or are independent contractors, are eligible for a loan up to $10 million. Loan payments will be deferred for 6 months to help maintain payroll and cover business expenses. If you maintain your workforce, the SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds used to cover the first 8 weeks of payroll and certain other expenses following loan origination.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program: U.S. small business owners are eligible to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000. The SBA program provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. Apply here.
- Employee Retention Credit Program: A fully refundable tax credit for eligible employers equal to 50 percent of qualified wages (including allocable qualified health plan expenses) paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. The maximum amount of qualified wages taken into account with respect to each employee for all calendar quarters is $10,000, so that the maximum credit paid to any employee is $5,000. Learn more here.
Coronavirus-Related Scams
As with any crisis, scammers are out looking to take advantage of consumers and businesses during this time. Watch out for situations described below and follow the links to learn more.
- Consumer payment checks provide several opportunities for scams described here.
- Public health scams where fraudsters claim to be from the CDC or WHO, and may ask for Social Security numbers, tax IDs, etc. described here.
- Government check scams targeted to business when someone calls or emails you claiming there’s money available from a government agency if you make an up-front payment or provide personal information. Learn how to spot these scams here.
- Business email scams asking for urgent payment transfers or other financial transactions described here.
- I.T. scam when a false member of your technology staff asks for a password or directs the recipient to download software. Learn more here.
- A supply scam where they claim to have the essentials you need, but in reality, they’re fakes that take your “order,” grab your credit card number, and run. Be sure to research any company before going through with a purchase.
- Robocalls selling fake products or seeking information about your business. It's best not to provide information over the phone in these situations and hang up.
- Data scams due to more people working from home and on different networks. Learn how to maintain your online security here.