An occasional look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.
By Sarah Mikesell Growney, program manager, Wyoming APEX Accelerator
Many businesses that register in SAM.gov (System for Award Management) for government contracting or federal assistance and appear in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) small-business search database begin receiving unsolicited emails immediately afterward. Because your business information becomes public, for-profit companies often send messages that look official but are designed to sell services you do not need to pay for.
Remember the following:
-- Legitimate communication will come only from “.gov” email addresses or from the Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) office.
-- SAM.gov does not charge for registration or annual renewal.
-- Any email requesting payment to update or maintain your SAM.gov account is not from the government.
-- Messages that threaten expiration or use urgent language are often scams or sales tactics.
Wyoming APEX Accelerator provides free assistance with SAM.gov registration, renewals and updates. If you receive a suspicious message, feel free to contact us. We’re happy to review it before you respond.
But most importantly, you can weed out the for-profit companies by looking at the email address. Is it from a “.gov” or a CAGEEVIEW@dla.mil? If not, it’s not SAM. If it claims to be from the U.S. SBA and it does not come from a “.gov” or “dla.mil,” it also is not from the SBA.
The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2024, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 46 new businesses; support 1,870 jobs; and bring a capital impact of $2.9 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. SBA.
To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu or write Dept. 3922, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071-3922.
For more information, go here.
All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.
