The text landed at 11:47 a.m. between a vendor invoice and a chargeback alert.
"Good news — your small business qualifies for a $47,500 federal grant under the 2026 small-business relief allocation. Funds are reserved. Reply YES or call to complete verification and release deposit."
She hadn't applied for anything. She ran a two-person shop that had googled "SBA grant" once after a slow month. That was enough. The callback number was already in her notes before she finished the sandwich. When she called, the "grant officer" was friendly, fast, and specific: one $890 processing fee, paid today, and the $47,500 would release by Friday.
Composite story. The pattern is real.
In March 2026 the FTC published a consumer alert on government grant scams that promise free money out of the blue. The script is almost always the same: you "qualify," the money is for bills or business costs, they need your Social or bank account to "deposit," and somewhere in the pitch there's a processing fee — cash, gift cards, wire, or crypto. The SBA's Office of Inspector General says the same thing from the agency side: SBA only emails from addresses ending in @SBA.gov, disaster workers never solicit money, and anyone who promises a grant or loan approval in exchange for an upfront payment is fraud.
Red flags
These track the FTC's March 5, 2026 grant-scam alert and the SBA OIG's protect-yourself guidance:
- Out-of-the-blue contact by text, call, email, or social media saying you already qualify for a government grant you never applied for.
- The pitch says you can use the money for personal bills, payroll, or to "pay off" business debt — the FTC notes real government grants aren't awarded that way to people who didn't apply.
- They want your Social Security number, EIN, or bank account to "verify" or "deposit" the grant.
- Any fee before the money arrives — processing, insurance, release, gift cards, wire, crypto. Government agencies that award grants do not demand payment to get a grant.
- The email isn't from @SBA.gov, or the site waves an SBA logo that doesn't match anything on SBA.gov.
- Urgency about an "allocation," a reserved file, or funds that expire today.
What to do
- Don't reply, don't click, don't call the number in the message. Delete it. Forward junk texts to 7726 (SPAM) if your phone supports it.
- Real grants start with an application you chose, usually through Grants.gov or an official agency portal — not a stranger texting you six figures. If you want to check a real SBA program, hang up and go to SBA.gov yourself. Never use the number or link they sent.
- Never pay a fee to "release" a grant. If you already paid by gift card, wire, or crypto, contact that company immediately, say it was fraud, and ask them to reverse it.
- Report the pitch at ReportFraud.FTC.gov. If someone claimed to be SBA while asking for money or personal data, also use the SBA OIG Hotline. File it on BBB Scam Tracker too.
- If you already gave personal information, start at IdentityTheft.gov.
She never paid the $890. She screenshotted the text and dropped it in an owners group chat. Three people had the same pitch that week — different dollar amounts, same "allocation," same ask for a verification fee before the deposit.
A real grant does not text you money you never applied for. A scam does.
Sources: FTC, How to avoid government grant scams that offer free money for personal expenses (March 5, 2026); SBA Office of Inspector General, Protect yourself from scams and fraud; Grants.gov for real federal grant applications.