What Is Welfare Fraud
The federal government, as well as state and local governments, provide assistance in the form of public funds to help individuals afford basic living expenses. These programsoften referred to as welfare, public assistance, or public benefit programsprovide assistance to individuals who show need based on income, age, disability, or another status. Public assistance programs generally provide money, benefits, or support in obtaining food, clothing, housing, childcare, and health care.
The following are examples of federal government benefits programs.
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
- Children’s Health Insurance Program
States administer these federal programs and may offer their own public assistance programs as well. To ensure public funds are used for their intended purpose, a person must meet strict eligibility requirements. The states and the federal government impose criminal and other penalties on those who abuse the system. Abuse of the system constitutes welfare fraud.
Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency/home Loans
Matters involving a home loan such as refinancing and modifications, or that involve a conflict between you and your financial institution may be reported to the Hope Hotline at or 1-800-613-6743 or through resources available at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency site, .
You Can Help Fight Fraudulent Activity
Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars are distributed in the form of federal grants to universities, local governments, organizations and individuals.
The vast majority of these funds are spent as intended, but misuse, deceit and abuse are nonetheless present. As a result, hundreds of thousand dollars go to waste.
Fraudulent behavior can take the form of embezzlement, theft, bribery or false claims and statements. Such violations of federal law are difficult to flag without the help of individuals inside the grant community.
Learn how you can help to stop fraudulent behavior and, thus, strengthen the integrity of the federal grant system and increase the overall efficiency of the government.
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How Do I Report Welfare Fraud In Washington State
You may report fraud using any one of the following methods:
- Online – Office of Fraud and Accountability
- Mail: DSHS Welfare Fraud
- Phone: 1-800-562-6906 – Welfare Fraud Hotline
- FAX: 1-360-664-0032, Attention: HOTLINE
Washington State Welfare Fraud Hotline: 1-800-562-6906
OFA investigates Welfare Fraud in the state of Washington. The word Welfare is used to include: Public Assistance programs and benefits food stamps Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Quest card, which is used for Electronic Benefits Transfer and Childcare benefits.
For additional questions or if you are Law Enforcement, you can leave a message, and your call will be returned within 24 hours at 360-664-5505.
Connect with DSHS
What Types Of Activity Should I Report To Treasury Oig
Treasury OIG is responsible for investigating matters related to Treasury employees, programs, contracts, grants, loans, funds, or its bureaus with the exception of the Internal Revenue Service . Matters related to the IRS should be filed with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration . The following types of violations should be reported to our office:
Allegations of Fraud Associated with Treasury Operations
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Threats Against Treasury Employees or Facilities
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Criminal and Serious Treasury Employee Misconduct
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Fraud Involving Treasury Contracts, Grants, Guarantees, and Federal Funds
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Treasury Financial Programs and Operations Crime
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Cyber Threats Against Treasury Systems and Cyber-Enabled Financial Crimes Fraud
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Fraud Related to Criminals Impersonating Treasury Agents and Employees
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Fraud Related to Persons Representing Themselves as Sovereign Citizens Submitting Fictitious Financial Instruments to Treasury, Financial Institutions, Private Companies, and Citizens
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Unregistered and Unlicensed Money Service Businesses
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Travel and Purchase Card Fraud by Treasury Employees
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Theft and/or Abuse of Treasury Government Property
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Report Scams To The Federal Government
You can report scams to the federal government. Your report may keep others from experiencing a scam. Government agencies use reports of scams to track scam patterns. They may even take legal action against a company or industry based on the reports. However, agencies usually dont follow up after you report, and can’t recover lost money.
Do not use the agency contact information included in scam messages. Use contact information in the federal agency directory to report other government imposters.
Report Disaster and Emergency Scams
Report coronavirus scams and other scams about disasters and emergencies.
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Use the National Center for Disaster Fraud’s web complaint form or call .
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Find more information on identifying and reporting coronavirus scams.
Report Most Common Scams
The Federal Trade Commission is the main agency that collects scam reports. Report the scam to the FTC online, or by phone at . The FTC accepts complaints about most scams, including these popular ones:
- Phone calls
- Demands for you to send money
- Student loan or scholarship scams
- Prize, grants, and sweepstakes offers
The FTC also collects reports of identity theft. Report identity theft online at IdentityTheft.gov or by phone at .
Report Online and International Scams
Report IRS or Social Security Imposter Scams
Scammers often pretend to work for the Social Security Administration or Internal Revenue Service . Common signs include:
Reporting Fraud Abuse Or Misuse
Service Canada takes abuse of the programs it delivers very seriously. When an individual or business receives benefits by providing false or misleading information, the integrity of the programs we deliver is jeopardized.
Reporting someone who may be committing benefit fraud, helps us protect your contributions to the Employment Insurance program and the Canada Pension Plan .
When you report abuse or misuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program , you are also helping to protect the integrity of TFWP and the Canadian labour market. Protecting your identity is another way you can help prevent fraud. If you know about someone who may be using a false identity or a false Social Insurance Number , let us know right away.
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What Happens After You File A Report
The information you provide is passed to the CSSIU for assessment to determine what action, if any, is required. Substantiated instances of fraud could result in:
- repayments of assistance for which the person is not eligible
- reduced assistance payments
- a fraud charge under the Income and Employment Support Act or the Criminal Code of Canada
Because of strict privacy laws, the ministry is not able to share information about the progress or outcome of the investigation. The confidentiality of the person involved is protected.
Paycheck Protection Fund/economic Injury Disaster Loan/restaurant Revitalization Fund
Please visit to obtain information or file a complaint regarding the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program . Please visit to obtain information or file a complaint regarding the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan . Please visit to obtain information or file a complaint regarding the Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund .
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Report Fraud Against The Federal Government
If you believe that you have knowledge of fraud against the Federal Government including fraud against other federally funded entities there are several ways to report this fraud. The most commonly used methods are by reporting the fraud to the Inspector General for the federal agency that has been defrauded, by notifying the Federal Bureau of Investigation , or by filing a qui tam action in federal court pursuant to the False Claims Act.1. Notify the federal agency harmedAll federal agencies have an Inspector General whose duties include investigating fraud committed against their agency. The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency has provided the reporting tool available here to help whistleblowers report fraud to the appropriate Inspector General. In addition, CIGIE has compiled the directory available here of all federal agency Inspectors General with their hotline number and address to report fraud.
Pandemic-Related Fraud: If you are aware of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement of federal funding, or misrepresentations relating to the coronavirus pandemic response, including the federal financial assistance and stimulus programs, submit a hotline complaint online to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
Health Care Fraud: To report health care fraud, call 1-800-HHS-TIPS or submit a hotline complaint online.
How Do I Report Immigration Fraud
Call the Canada Border Services Agency Border Watch Toll-Free Line at 1-888-502-9060 to report:
- suspicious activity at the border
- a marriage of convenience
- a person who has given false information on any immigration application or
- a person wanted on an immigration warrant
What you tell the tip line is private. Your identity stays protected.
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Miscellaneous Scams And Frauds
- All types of frauds: There are some NON-government organizations that can help: You can also report the problem to law enforcement agencies through the complaint form at the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch or 800-876-7060, TDD 202-835-0778. The information you provide helps to stop identity theft.
What Happens After I File A Welfare Fraud Complaint Report
Washington State Welfare Fraud Hotline: 1-800-562-6906
OFA investigates Welfare Fraud in the state of Washington. The word Welfare is used to include: Public Assistance programs and benefits food stamps Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Quest card, which is used for Electronic Benefits Transfer and Childcare benefits.
For additional questions or if you are Law Enforcement, you can leave a message, and your call will be returned within 24 hours at 360-664-5505.
Connect with DSHS
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What Happens Next
When you submit your referral, you will receive a tracking number. Keep this number handy you will need to provide it if you have more information to add later.
The OIG is prohibited from providing you with an update on the status of any open investigation.
To report fraud, waste, or abuse regarding the expenditure of other state funds, contact the State Auditor’s Office.
How To Follow Up
After submitting an allegation, it is assigned a unique control number. Please provide this control number when contacting FraudNet about the status of your submission. If you have additional information about a previously submitted complaint, please submit a new allegation and include the control number of the related complaint in your submission.
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Report Scams To Third Parties
You may want to report the scam to organizations outside of the government. Third parties may be able to get your money back or remove fraudulent charges.
Report a scam that happened with an online seller or a payment transfer system to the companys fraud department.
If you used your credit card or bank account to pay a scammer, report it to the card issuer or bank. Also report scams to the major credit reporting agencies. Place a fraud alert on your credit report to prevent someone from opening credit accounts in your name.
Potentially Fraudulent Welfare Situations That Can Be Reported
- Unreported Income
- Please give the employers name and address, type of income, when it started, how often paid, etc.
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If you received an email from a sender posing as Public Health Ontario offering you next steps for signing up for a vaccine certificate or asking for your private health information: Do not open it or click on any links.
*A phishing scam is an attempt to deceive you into giving sensitive information to someone posing as an individual or company that you know .
To Emergency Rental Assistance And Other Program Applicants Receiving Benefits From States The District Of Columbia Local Governments Us Territories Tribes Tribally Designated Housing Entities Or The Department Of Hawaiian Home Lands :
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If you believe that you have been the victim of fraud, as applicable, you should file a police report with your State, Local, Tribal, Territorial or DC law enforcement agency with primary law enforcement jurisdiction. This is usually the same agency that responds to 911 calls. Many State Attorney Generals Offices also investigate fraud.
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Treasury OIG will assist State, Local, Territorial, Tribal and DC law enforcement agencies, as needed.
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You should also report fraud to the local agency responsible for disbursing Rental Assistance funds or the District of Columbia, Tribe, TDHE, DHHL, State, Local government, or Territorial Agency that oversees the program.
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For additional information and resources, you may visit the Emergency Rental Assistance Program page located at .
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To find rental assistance, you may visit the Find Rental Assistance page located at .
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Report Fraud In Writing Or Online
Send an anonymous letter by mail, fax or online if you would rather not talk to an investigator even anonymously. Some states have online reporting systems so go online to find out the options for filing fraud reports. The state of Washington, for example, accepts anonymous reports by mail, fax and online. In most cases, you’ll need to file the report in the state where the family members lives, or the state where they committed the fraud if different.
In The United States:
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Give Facts Surrounding The Fraud
Agencies require information to allow them to investigate the fraud allegation. Be prepared to give the names of the people suspected of fraud and the type of fraud they have committed such as selling food benefits distributed through welfare or collecting benefits while hiding income. Some agencies may require you to send in documentation of the alleged fraud such as paper records, video evidence or anything else that may be useful.
Phishing And Spoofed Websites
- Phishing and Spam: Internet Crime Prevention & Control Institute, a cooperative effort between Zero Spam Network Corp. and the University of Miami. Staffed by Miami undergraduate and graduate students and Zero Spam employees, works closely with the Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Force and ISPs in the United States and abroad to identify and block traffic to machines hosting phishing sites.
- Health privacy and patient safety concerns – If you believe your health information privacy rights or security have been violated, you canfile a complaint with OCR here.
- To report Medicare Fraud: HHS Office of Inspector General , Phone: 447-8477, www.oig.hhs.gov (This website provides direction on what should be done if you suspect Medicare fraud.
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Report Public Assistance Fraud
The Department is committed to reducing and preventing waste, fraud and abuse in Wisconsins public assistance programs. One our main priorities is to make sure we are providing essential safety net benefits, like BadgerCare Plus and FoodShare to individuals and families in poverty while ensuring Wisconsins valuable taxpayer dollars are being spent in the most efficient, effective way possible.
Many of the fraud investigations that the Departments Office of the Inspector General completes are tied to a tip that was provided by the public through the fraud hotline or fraud reporting website. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to report suspected fraud.
The OIG investigates fraud tips for any type of abuses of public resources such as:
- Billing Medicaid for services/equipment not provided.
- Filing a false application for a DHS-funded assistance program such as Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus, WIC or FoodShare.
- Trafficking of FoodShare benefits .
- Crime/misconduct/mismanagement by a DHS employee/official or contractor.
If the OIG finds violations of state and federal laws, it works with law enforcement and the Department of Justice to take the appropriate action.
The Department encourages the public to report any fraudulent use of public assistance dollars through our fraud hotline 1-877-865-3432 or through the fraud reporting website.
Fraud Hotline:
What Are The Costs Of Grant Fraud
Besides triggering lost efficiency and waste in the government, grant fraud can also have a significant impact on entities found to have carried it out. The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General warns that consequences can include “debarment from receiving future funding, administrative recoveries of funds, civil law suits and criminal prosecution.”
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