It shouldn’t cost you money to do business with the federal government. But scammers exploit the fact that most people don’t know that. The Better Business Bureau is warning that fraudsters are trying to trick consumers and businesses into paying for help with registrations on a free government vendor website, known as the US System for Award Management (SAM.gov).

The fraudsters send an email that claims it is from a SAM.gov representative, alleging that the user’s account is about to expire. The email asks for updated information and then steers the user to another website that asks for money to renew the account.

The fraudster sends an email that appears to be from a SAM.gov representative, alleging that the user’s account is about to expire. The email asks for updated information and then steers the user to another website that requests funds to renew the account.

The BBB says that you should never pay for SAM.gov registration. If you receive an email that appears to be from a government agency, contact them via the information provided in its official website.