An email claims a private equity firm wants to buy your small business — it's a scam
Scammers email small business owners claiming a private equity investor or broker is interested in acquiring their company. They gather financial data, charge fake due-diligence fees, or use gleaned info to facilitate later wire fraud.
Also known as: fake PE acquisition offer, fake business acquisition email, private equity buyout scam, fake business broker scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Do not reply until you have verified the buyer independently — search the claimed firm's name and call them on a number you find yourself, not one from the email
- 2 Never share financial statements, tax returns, or banking credentials with an unverified contact, regardless of how the deal is framed
- 3 Never pay any fee to a potential buyer — in real M&A transactions, buyers bear due-diligence costs; sellers do not pay to be acquired
- 4 Ask a business attorney or your CPA to review any unsolicited acquisition inquiry before you respond
- 5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ The email is vague about who the buyer is — phrases like 'a PE firm in our network' or 'a client interested in your space' without naming anyone
- ⚠ You receive an unsolicited email — legitimate acquisition inquiries on 'mom-and-pop' businesses almost never come cold via generic email
- ⚠ They ask for detailed financial records, bank statements, or your EIN/SSN early in the conversation before any NDA or verified buyer identity
- ⚠ A 'due diligence fee,' 'escrow deposit,' or 'valuation fee' is requested before any deal — sellers never pay fees in a real acquisition
- ⚠ The sender's email domain is generic (Gmail, Hotmail) or close to but not exactly the claimed firm's real domain