Fraud Alert: EPA Impersonation Scam
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General is issuing this fraud alert to highlight an increasingly common phishing scam involving individuals who impersonate EPA employees or mimic EPA email addresses. In these scams, fraudsters use social media platforms or other electronic means to convince victims that they are corresponding with actual EPA employees and that they should send money, products, or information.
In one recent instance of this impersonation scam, a fraudster hacked a social media profile and, posing as the owner of that profile, contacted the victim: one of the owner’s friends. The fraudster told the victim a fake story about receiving EPA grant funds and stated that the victim was eligible for the same EPA grant opportunity. The fraudster urged the victim to apply for the grant and put the victim in contact with an “EPA grant official.” The imposter EPA grant official then convinced the victim to send a payment to release the supposed grant funds.
In another version of this impersonation scam, a fraudster posing as an EPA employee contacted companies via email to request a quote for products. The fraudster used an email address that was very similar to an official EPA email address, as well as a signature block with the EPA website and logo, to make the request appear legitimate. If companies correspond with or send products to such fraudsters, they may suffer a potential loss of product, the disclosure of confidential business information, or other fraudulent conduct.
How to Spot or Protect Yourself from an Impersonation Scam
- Never respond to or pay an individual offering an EPA grant, money, or service, especially if the
correspondence comes over social media. The EPA will not message you through social media to begin a grant application, and it will never ask you to pay to apply for or receive grant money.
- Pay careful attention to email addresses and websites provided for grant applications. Official U.S. government organizations use the “.gov” domain name; for example, “epa.gov.” The EPA does not use .net, .org, or .com domains.
- The EPA will not initiate contact. Remember, if you want to do business with a government agency, always be the first to initiate contact through the agency’s official website or published contact information.
If you believe you have been the victim of fraud or if you 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 at https://www.epa.gov/office-inspector-general/forms/epa-oig-hotline-complaint-form, emailing OIG.Hotline@epa.gov, or calling (888) 546-8740.