Recently one of our clients received a deceptive “Citation and Notice of Penalty” in the U.S. Mail. The correspondence seemed to be from the Environmental Protection Agency. It stated that our client’s business owed an $11,000 fine related to an inspection. However, his company’s operations don’t require inspection, and he had not dealt with the EPA prior to this. It was an alarming letter to say the least.
The notice looks official, uses the correct mailing address for the EPA, and includes an EPA logo. The person who “signed” the letter does indeed hold a position at the EPA. At first glance, it seems like a valid letter from a government agency.
But it was a fraud. We determined that the signature was not genuine, and noted other significant details.
The recipient is told to email “invoice@epa.services” for an invoice and payment information. This is not an EPA email address. Official U.S. government organizations use the domain name “.gov.”
The recipient is told to call an 800 number to submit payment over the phone. The number is not affiliated with the EPA.
Many people fall prey to this scheme because letters and emails like this look valid. Some are frightened; others just want to get it over with because they don’t want the hassle of fighting what they think is a real citation.
If you receive a notice from a government agency, contact your attorney as quickly as possible to determine whether it is authentic or not. If it is, you can take appropriate action to preserve your legal rights. If it is not, you can avoid losing your hard-earned money to fraudsters.
The EPA Office of Attorney General has more information about this scam and how to report fraud here: www.epaoig.gov/public-notices.
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