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The Allegations that should be reported to the OIG Hotline include, but are not limited to: Employee corruption, civil rights and civil liberties abuses, program fraud and financial crimes, and miscellaneous criminal and non-criminal activity associated with waste, abuse, mismanagement or misconduct affecting the programs and operations of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).   

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The OIG Hotline receives allegations from multiple sources, including DHS employees (to include contractors) and concerned citizens.

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If you believe you are a victim of whistleblower retaliation, please contact the OIG Hotline or the Office of Special Counsel for more information by accessing the Whistleblower Resources.

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The The OIG relies upon concerned employees and citizens to provide us with information regarding alleged employee corruption, waste, fraud, mismanagement or misconduct within DHS. Although not required to do so, we urge you to identify yourself when submitting an allegation using the automated DHS OIG Investigative Referral Submission Form.  If the information you provide is helpful, we may need to contact you in-person or via the internet, telephone or U.S. Mail for additional information.

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Individuals who contact the OIG may 1) remain anonymous, 2) identify him/herself but request confidentiality by noting they do not wish his/her identity to be revealed, or 3) fully disclose their identity.

It may be necessary for the OIG to reveal a confidential complainant's identity if such identification is necessary to investigate the alleged matter, or as otherwise required by law.  Complainants who file anonymously, or those requesting confidentiality, should understand filing as such may hinder the OIG's ability to thoroughly pursue their complaint.  Anonymity may be forfeited when submitting an online allegation to the DHS OIG Hotline, if a confirmation receipt with Complaint Number is desired

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If filing under any condition other than “anonymously” please make sure you provide your name, address, telephone number, and all other pertinent contact information.  If you wish to receive a Complaint Number Notification alert message via email you must provide a valid point of contact email address.

If the alleged offender is a DHS employee, please provide the employee's name, title, tour of duty, and the name and address of the DHS agency where the employee works.  Additionally, the information you provide should be as detailed as possible.

• Who was involved in the alleged wrongdoing (person, DHS Agency or organization)?
• What did the individual or entity do?
• Where did the incident take place?
• When did it happen? Is it still ongoing?
• How was the activity committed?
• How did you become aware of the problem?
• Who else has knowledge of the potential wrongdoing?

Some of this information is (*) “required” when filing an allegation using the online DHS OIG Investigative Referral Submission Form

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The preferred method of filing an allegation is via the DHS OIG Investigative Referral Submission Form.  You may also use the U.S. Mail or fax to file your allegation materials:

U.S. Mail:
DHS Office of Inspector General /MAIL STOP 2600
Attention: Office of Investigations - Hotline
245 Murray Drive SW, Building 410
Washington, DC 20528
  

Fax: 

202-254-4297

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Information that is received by the Hotline is reviewed to determine if DHS OIG investigation or referral to a more appropriate entity is warranted. If the allegation does not fall within the scope of DHS OIG's jurisdiction, that information may be forwarded to the appropriate agency or authority for their review.