DENVER — What happens when you get a demand letter in the mail for a $20,000 PPP loan that you never took out? That’s what happened to a Denver business owner who is warning that it could happen to you, too.
Tim Hart gets a lot of junk mail, which is what he thought the demand letter from Scratch Services was, at first.
“It’s a notice of default and demand for payment for $20,873. And they were demanding payment by Feb. 6,” said Hart, who then thought the letter might be a phishing scam. “I did not apply for this loan. I did not receive $20,000.”
Contact Denver7 has learned the letter is the real deal, part of a batch of demand letters sent by mail to recipients of SBA loans.
However, Hart said, it appears someone had stolen his identity and taken out a PPP loan in his name using an email he has never seen. Disputing the charge has not been simple.
“I’m logging my hours, so far. It’s 18 hours, 18 hours of my time,” said Hart, who said phone calls, emails, police reports and documents at little response last week. “I was getting absolutely no communication from either Scratch, which is the loan servicer. As well as Cross River Bank. I had to get this resolved before Feb. 6 because I am afraid of really a bad hit on my credit.”
Contact Denver7 has been digging into the larger issue at play: Identity theft that facilitates fraud against the government.
“Every single government program is at risk of fraud,” said Phil Weiser, the Colorado Attorney General, who said his office is…
