EPA Watchdog Warns Public of Spike in Grant Fraud Activity

The EPA’s internal watchdog sent out a fraud alert on Tuesday warning of an “increasingly common” form of business email cybercrime that could target agency grant recipients.

The alert warns the public of bad actors who have been sending fake emails that appear to come from trusted sources to defraud people into sending money or sensitive information.

Those concerns are heightened because billions of dollars are flowing out of the Environmental Protection Agency under the recent infrastructure and climate bills, often to small groups that have never received federal grants before.

The new alert comes as part of a broader ...