Refurbishing Fraud
Yeow! GSA will be removing refurbished technology from the Schedules as part of the upcoming consolidation. We can thank cybercriminals for this lovely change.
Individuals not associated with the government have been placing IT orders. They trick small businesses into sending used hardware to empty warehouses, where they remove the equipment and sell it on the black market. Meanwhile, they never pay the original bill.
Additionally, some of the equipment has been discovered as counterfeit — which of course doesn’t meet government standards — as refurbished. This leaves the purchasing agencies open to risk. (FEDSCOOP, August 21, 2019)
According to Lawrence Hale, a director within the GSA Federal Acquisition Service, fraudsters phish small businesses, and GSA cannot guarantee the origin of refurbished products. “It’s a supply chain attack.” The only way to stop it is to shut the SIN down. (ibid)
As GSA consolidates 24 of its Multiple Award Schedules into one on October 1, 2019, a request for information is looking for industry feedback on supply and service categories and SINs that the forthcoming solicitation will be split into. (ibid)
Do you resell refurbished technology equipment to the government? Are you wondering how to provide feedback on the removal of SIN 132-9, allowing for the purchase of refurbished technology? Give us a call.