SAM Update from GSA

For assistance with your SAM.gov registration, contact your trusted local PTAC Procurement Specialist.

Alleged Fraudulent Activity in SAM – Updated April 26, 2018

GSA’s System for Award Management (SAM) is supporting an active investigation by the GSA Office of Inspector General (OIG) into alleged, third-party fraudulent activity in SAM. At this time, only a limited number of entities registered in SAM are suspected of being impacted by this alleged fraudulent activity. GSA has already taken proactive steps to address this issue and has notified affected entities. GSA will continue to work with the OIG and law enforcement agencies to take additional action as appropriate.

These proactive steps include requiring submission of an original, signed notarized letter identifying the authorized Entity Administrator for the entity associated with the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number before the registration will be activated. GSA posted instructions for domestic entities and instructions for international entities for easy reference. This requirement went into effect on March 22, 2018 for new entities registering in SAM and goes into effect on April 27, 2018 for existing registrations being updated or renewed in SAM.

What is GSA doing to address the problem?

GSA’s SAM team is supporting GSA’s OIG in an active investigation into alleged, third-party fraudulent activity related to SAM. GSA has taken a number of proactive steps to address this issue and is in the process of making system modifications to prevent improper activity going forward. In the interim, GSA expired, then deactivated any entity registrations that appeared to have been affected. These entities are being advised to validate their registration information in SAM, particularly their financial information and points of contact, before reactivating the entity registrations. Further, GSA has begun implementing additional reviews during the registration process to prevent future issues.

Who was impacted?

Entities with registrations that appeared to be impacted were notified. Instructions were provided explaining how to validate registration information and how to reactivate the registration. In addition, entities whose bank account information for Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) changed within the last year were notified. Although not associated with suspicious activity, these entities are required to validate their registration information, particularly their EFT information.

What is an entity?

In SAM, you, your company, business, or organization is referred to as an “entity.” Individuals register themselves or their entity to do business with the U.S. Federal Government by completing the registration process in SAM.

What should entities registered in SAM do to protect themselves and confirm that their bank account information has not been changed?

Entities registered in SAM are advised to log into SAM and review their registration information, particularly their bank account information for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) on the financial information page. Contact the supporting Federal Service Desk at www.fsd.gov, or by telephone at 866-606-8220 (toll free) or 334-206-7828 (internationally) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EDT), for FREE assistance. Entities are responsible for ensuring that their information is current and correct in SAM in accordance with paragraph (b) of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.232-33 or Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 25 (2 CFR § 25.310 and Appendix A), as applicable, and should routinely review such information for accuracy.

Who should entities contact if they find that payments due them from Federal agencies have been paid to a bank account that other than their own?

If an entity suspects a payment due them from a Federal agency was paid to a bank account other than their own, they should contact the Federal Service Desk at www.fsd.gov, or by telephone at 866-606-8220 (toll free) or 334-206-7828(internationally), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EDT), for FREE assistance.

What interim changes have been made to the SAM registration process?

The proactive steps taken by SAM to address this fraudulent activity include requiring an original, signed notarized letteridentifying the authorized Entity Administrator for the entity associated with the DUNS number before a new SAM.gov entity registration will be activated or an existing entity is updated or renewed.

Who should an international entity contact if they are unable to complete the notarized letter process?

Entities not located in the U.S. or its outlying areas should read the international entity instructions posted at the Federal Service Desk that outline procedures and provide links to letter templates. If they have additional questions, international entities should contact the Federal Service Desk at www.fsd.gov, or by telephone at 866-606-8220 (toll free) or 334-206-7828 (internationally), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EDT), for FREE assistance.