Federal Award Management Registration

In a recent comment filed in support of the FTC’s proposed Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses, TINA.org noted a trend of private, for-profit companies posing as the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), an official website of the U.S. government.

In order to be eligible to receive grant money from the federal government, including COVID relief funds, businesses and organizations must register at SAM.gov. SAM registration, which is also required to bid on government contracts, is relatively simple — and 100% free. And not only is it free to register, it’s free to renew registration, which can also be done through SAM.gov.

Yet some firms design their websites to look like the government website – including through the use of the official SAM.gov logo and/or other government seals, a practice that would be prohibited under the FTC’s rule – without adequately disclosing that they’re actually third-party, for-profit companies and that the same registration and renewal services for which they charge hundreds to thousands of dollars are available for free on the actual SAM.gov site.

In its comment, TINA.org identified several companies engaging in such deception, including Federal Award Management Registration (FAMR), which charges $495 for registration services for one year, $890 for two years and $1,995 for five years.

On FAMR’s homepage, federal.famr.us, the company does not disclose that the services it offers are available free of charge at SAM.gov. FAMR does disclose that it is “an independent firm that specializes in helping businesses get registered to do business with the federal government,” but this important information appears inconspicuously below a SAM registration form urging users to “Get Registered Today.” (According to the FTC, material information must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed.)

TINA.org reached out to FAMR for comment. Check back for updates.

In the last five years, consumers have reported losing more than $2 billion to government and business imposter scams. Among other things, the FTC’s proposed rule would allow the agency to recover money from scammers who harm consumers in violation of the rule.

Read more about TINA.org’s efforts to eradicate deceptive marketing in this area here.