Reminder: SAM.gov Registration Is Free!

PSATS received several reports about suspicious emails claiming to be SAM.gov registration renewals, often stating that users need to pay a fee to renew their information. The System for Award Management (SAM) is a 100% free government website. The U.S. government will never send an email requesting payment to register or update information.

Be on the lookout for email addresses that try to mimic government email addresses, for example, “sam-registration-gov@gsasam.com.” In general, emails from the federal government will come from a .gov or a .mil email domain. Look at both the sender’s display name and the sender’s email address to verify if it is a legitimate email. If you are suspicious, do not respond or click on any links.

Please note that SAM.gov registrations need to be renewed each year. When you receive an official email telling you to renew, which will come from a .gov domain, check your original registration email, which will have your township’s SAM.gov expiration date. You should renew a few days before your expiration date.

If you receive an unsolicited email claiming or implying affiliation with the U.S. government (or which a reasonable person could confuse with an official message from the government), you can:

• Forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission Unsolicited Consumer Emails (UCE) program at spam@uce.gov.
• Report the contact to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).