The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General is issuing this fraud alert to highlight an increasingly common phishing scam involving fraudulent EPA Notice of Violation letters. In this scam, a fraudster sends a falsified EPA Notice of Violation letter to a target business and requests that the business respond by phone or email.
In recent instances of this crime, a fraudster sent falsified letters through email or U.S. Postal Service mail. The letters allege that the target business violated an environmental regulation such as the Clean Air Act. They indicate that the business owes thousands of dollars in fines and should respond by phone or email. However, the contact information provided—[email protected]—is NOT associated with the EPA. Official U.S. government organizations use the “.gov” domain name; for example, “epa.gov.”
If you receive a Notice of Violation letter and are unsure of its validity, we encourage you to thoroughly review the letter, including the email address, and contact the EPA’s enforcement office directly to verify authenticity.
If you believe you have been the victim of fraud, or have knowledge of potential waste, fraud, or abuse involving EPA operations and programs, report it to the EPA OIG Hotline by completing the online complaint form, emailing [email protected], or calling (888) 546-8740.
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