Is The OSHA Officer Real? Here’s How To Spot The Scammers
The fake “CoSHO” will make threats and show agitation with such a request from an employer because a call to the OSHA Area Office will expose the scam
by, Robert Box
Scammers impersonating Occupational Safety & Health Association Compliance Safety & Health Officers, otherwise known as “OSHA CoSHOs”, is a pesky and pricey hoax that never seems to go away despite the relative ease involved in identifying the fake OSHA CoSHO.
This article will review some common and notorious scams, how to spot a fake CoSHO, and what to do if a scammer is suspected of posing as an OSHA CoSHO.
The Scams
Can you identify the red flags in the following four sample OSHA scams? When you are done with this section, continue reading “How To Spot the Fake CoSHOs” below to see how you did.
- The most common scam involving fake CoSHOs is the Poster Scam. With this particular scam, fake CoSHOs typically call a business and tells them they need to purchase and post the OSHA “It’s the Law” Poster or the business would be fined. Variations of the scam include threats, if the business does not want to pay for the poster, of a full OSHA inspection or threats of closing the business down.
- Another popular scam involves a fake CoSHO that shows up to a place of business or construction site, shows some sort of identification, and immediately begins the inspection. One or more violations are pointed out to business officials and one or more citations are written that require immediate payment of fines. If the business isn’t able to pay the amount of the fines immediately, the fake CoSHO negotiates an amount of fine that the business is able to pay on the spot.
- A woman in Central California was involved in scamming construction companies out of $500,000 by impersonating an OSHA CoSHO. The woman offered training classes, for a fee, to clear up OSHA violations that she said she found on the job sites. She was said to have shammed one company out of $35,000 before getting caught.
- Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a woman visited small fishing communities in Louisiana, represented herself as a high-ranking OSHA hazardous waste safety instructor and inspector. She promised residents in the small fishing communities that lucrative employment opportunities were available for cleaning up the oil spill – provided they were properly trained. However, the woman had no connections with OSHA or the oil spill cleanup effort, and she did not have any training whatsoever in hazardous waste safety. The woman eventually plead guilty to criminal charges that landed her in prison for 57 months.
How To Spot the Fake CoSHOs
How do you know if someone claims to be an OSHA CoSHO is actually the real deal? Here’s how you spot the fakes:
Red Flag 1: The fake CoSHO will not show an ID or will show a bogus ID.
Upon appearing at a place of business or job site, the real CoSHO should always immediately display his or her credentials (if they forget, remind them to do so), which is a formal ID, and is actually in three parts.
The first part is a Department of labor shield on the cover, and on the inside is an identification card and another identification card with the person’s photograph on it.
OSHA does not allow photocopying CoSHO IDs, but an OSHA Area Director in Texas shared a partial photograph of his credentials with us to help employers get an idea of what official OSHA credentials look like.
Red Flag 2: The fake CoSHO will not hold formal opening/closing conferences with the employer.
OSHA CoSHOs always (or at least attempt to) hold opening and closing conferences with the employer.
The opening conference, although brief, covers why OSHA is at the workplace and the scope of the inspection.
The closing conference will preferably be on-site, but sometimes it could be held by teleconference, as circumstances require.
In the closing conference, the CoSHO(s) will describe the alleged violations found during the inspection.
The employer is always advised of their rights to participate in any subsequent conferences, meetings or discussions, and their context rights.
The fake CoSHO will be more interested in doing a quick inspection, getting paid for fake citations, and getting out of there as soon as possible.
Red Flag 3: The fake CoSHO won’t be agreeable with a call to the OSHA Area Office to confirm their identity.
OSHA CoSHOs will always support the employer’s desire to confirm the CoSHO’s identity.
The fake CoSHO will make threats and show agitation with such a request from an employer because a call to the OSHA Area Office will expose the scam.
Tip: Never use a phone number a CoSHO (real or fake) provides as a number to call to confirm their identity –it could be a phone number to an accomplice scammer. Always look up the number to the closest OSHA Area Office yourself.
Red Flag 4: The fake CoSHO will issue citations.
OSHA CoSHOs never issue citations; they merely collect facts and bring them back to the Area Office.
The Area Director along and staff attorneys formulate and issue citations to employers, but always from the Area Office in a formal letter.
Red Flag 5: The fake CoSHO will ask for payment on the spot.
OSHA CoSHOs never issue financial penalties or collect payments.
Again, the Area Director of OSHA is in charge of setting and issuing financial penalties to employers, not the CoSHO.
If a “CoSHO” offers a reduction in financial penalty if the employer pays the penalty up front, then it’s a scam.
Red Flag 6: The fake CoSHO will attempt to sell goods and/or services.
OSHA CoSHOs never sell goods or services.
Fake CoSHOs will almost always try to sell a “compliance kit,” OSHA “It’s the Law” poster, or some sort of training/service.
The most popular gimmick is to sell the free OSHA “It’s the Law” poster, which is available free on OSHA’s website.
- The Inspector Is A Fake. Now What?
If someone purporting to be an OSHA CoSHO is suspected of being a scammer, you should:
- Call the local police immediately.
- Contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- If you haven’t already, contact OSHA at 800-321-OSHA.
- If possible, get photographs of the suspected scammer.
- Get photographs of the suspected scammer’s vehicle, including the license plate number.
Above all else, be careful.
Impersonating a federal official is a big-time crime and a scammer will likely not go down easily and calmly.
Safety First Consulting is a contributor of SM Corridor News and helps businesses identify OSHA compliance issues in their workplaces, manage their safety programs, and we become accountable for the results. In addition to offering custom written safety programs for companies, Safety First Consulting provides required safety training, industrial hygiene sampling, noise sampling, and workplace inspections. You can read more from Robert Box under Business.
