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Report Fraud, Waste or Abuse

Members of the public and FCC employees may file a complaint with the FCC Office of Inspector General (OIG) pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978.

What types of activity should I report to FCC OIG?

You should notify the FCC OIG of suspected fraud, waste, and abuse in Agency programs, including:

• Schools and Libraries Program [E-Rate]
• High Cost
• Lifeline
• Rural Health Care Program
• Contributors
• Telecommunications Relay Services Fund
• FCC Auctions Program

You should notify the FCC OIG of administrative misconduct involving FCC employees and/or contractors or others involving:

• Bribery, Kickbacks, and Gratuities
• Travel and Purchase Card Fraud
• Theft and/or Abuse of Government Property
• Computer Crimes affecting FCC Infrastructure
• Threats Against FCC Employees or Facilities
• Time and Attendance

*The following types of violations should be directly reported to Other Agencies or Offices and NOT to the FCC OIG:

• National Do Not Call Registry, including “Do Not Call” and “Robocalls”
  • https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx
• FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) Phone Calls related to Consumer Services and Scams
  • https://www.fcc.gov/general/frauds-scams-and-alerts-guides
• FCC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests
  • https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/guides/how-file-foia-request
• IRS (Internal Revenue Service) related Phishing and Online Scams
  • https://www.irs.gov/uac/report-phishing
• Treasury Inspector General for the Tax Administration (TIGTA) all other IRS programs or operations
  • https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/ or 1-800-366-4484
• U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) regarding whistleblower retaliation and Hatch Act violations
  • https://osc.gov/Services/

Who can report to the FCC OIG?

FCC employees, contractors, grantees, and members of the public may submit a complaint allegations fraud, waste or abuse to the OIG.

Anonymous and Confidential Complaints

Individuals who provide information to the Office of Inspector General on allegations of fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement of FCC programs and operations may do so in one of 3 ways:

1. Provide information anonymously (without providing any identifying information), or
2. Provide information, including your identity and contact information, and request that your complaint be handled confidentially if you believe disclosing your identity may create a hardship or place you in danger, or
3. Provide information, including your identity and contact information with no restrictions.

How to File a Complaint with the FCC OIG

You can submit your complaint by these methods:

Mail

Call

Email

Fax

What to Include in your Complaint

• Be as specific as possible including all relevant names, dates, times, locations.
• The name of the contractor or relevant program participant, including identifying information such as BEN or SPIN number assigned by USAC.
• A detailed description of the alleged wrongdoing.
• How you became aware of the problem, efforts made thus far to correct the problem, and current status of the problem cited by the alleged wrongdoing.

What to expect after you submit a complaint

• We cannot provide information regarding what action(s) have been taken on any allegation reported to our office.
• Federal regulations prohibit the disclosure of information contained in law enforcement records even to the individual submitting the allegation(s).
• Unless you are contacted directly by one of our investigators, there will be no communication from our office, outside of correspondence which may advise you that your matter has been referred to another entity if your submitted allegations do not fall under the jurisdiction or cognizance of the FCC OIG.
• Under no circumstances will our office provide you with the status of action taken on any allegation. The information you provide will be processed according to our internal policies and guidelines, and appropriate action will be taken.

Whistleblower Retaliation Protections and Reporting

All FCC employees, contractors, subcontractors, and applicants for employment are protected from retaliation for making a protected disclosure. If you believe you have been subject to retaliation for protected whistleblowing, or for additional information on whistleblower protections, please select the link below.

WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS