Fraud Alert: Phishing Scheme
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General is issuing this fraud alert to highlight an increasingly common and costly phishing scheme.
Using social media, a fraudster will contact an individual, often a senior citizen, about a “tax-free environmental grant.” When a victim expresses interest, the fraudster uses an urgent tone to pressure the victim to send personal information supposedly needed to complete an application and receive quick grant approval. The fraudster then directs the victim to send gift cards to cover processing fees for the grant. The scheme is often prolonged by the fraudster telling the victim about larger grants with additional processing fees.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost over $1.2 billion in 2022 alone to scams that originated on social media platforms, with many scams unreported entirely. In newly released data by the FTC, the losses under fraud scams increased to more than $12.5 billion in 2024.
How do you protect yourself from a phishing scam?
- If you receive a contact via social media from someone claiming to represent the EPA or any other federal agency, be very wary. Federal agencies do not use social media for official communications or to solicit personal information or arrange payments.
- If the contact is not willing to talk on the phone or meet in person or via a video chat, be wary and exercise extreme caution. Fraudsters commonly stall scheduling phone or video calls and often refuse to meet in person. If a call does take place, the fraudster’s accent often does not match the background of the person being impersonated.
- Beware of urgent requests. Fraudsters introduce a storyline that is tied to an urgent financial situation to motivate a victim to act quickly before the victim can confirm or dispute the story.
- Do not send money through methods that make recovery difficult, such as wires, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Fraudsters will also send links to facilitate a money transfer, or they may send harmful links that contain malicious software.
How do you avoid losing your money?
- If you suspect a scam, stop communicating with the person immediately.
- Do not click links, especially if someone sent the link and directed you to log into an existing financial account. This scam will mimic your actual account page and is used to record your login information.
- If you think you have been the victim of a financial scam, immediately contact your bank, the social media website where you interacted with the fraudster, the government agency allegedly represented in the scam, and either the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
If you think you have been the victim of a scam involving the EPA, report the incident 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.