SBA has issued an alert about an apparent "phishing" scam that asks small businesses to provide bank account information in order to qualify for federal tax rebates.

The fraudulent letters were sent out with what appears to be an SBA letterhead. In a statement, the agency said the letters have not been sent by or authorized by SBA, and small businesses are strongly advised not to respond to them.

Anyone who receives such a letter should report it to the SBA inspector general's office at 800-767-0385 or OIGHotline@sba.gov.

The proposed agreement calls for agencies to set up their own partner channels, and to control the content. Officials said negotiations are also underway with other social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

SBA intends to terminate a waiver of the nonmanufacturer rule for PSC 3930, Warehouse Trucks and Tractors, Self-Propelled. The agency said it recently became aware of the existence of small business manufacturers of these products.

Comments and source information on the waiver must be submitted by February 27.