The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General has issued a fraud alert regarding a new and increasingly prevalent phishing scam targeting businesses with fraudulent EPA Notice of Violation letters. The falsified Notice of Violation letters demand payments for alleged environmental violations. These deceptive letters bear the EPA logo and claim that businesses must pay a penalty to resolve the violation of an environmental regulation. However, the contact email provided —invoice @ epa . services— is not affiliated with the EPA. Official U.S. government organizations use the “.gov” domain name; for example, “epa.gov.”
Businesses receiving a Notice of Violation are urged to thoroughly review the letter, including the email, and contact EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance directly at OECA_Communications@epa.gov to verify authenticity.
If you believe you have been the victim of fraud, or have knowledge of potential waste, fraud, and abuse involving EPA operations and programs, please contact the OIG Hotline at (888) 546-8740 or OIG.Hotline@epa.gov.
