Report Fraud
Washington State Welfare Fraud Hotline: 1-800-562-6906
The Department of Social and Health Services Office of Fraud and Accountability investigates public benefits fraud in Washington state. This includes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), basic food assistance, electronic benefits transfer cards and child care assistance.
The Department of Social and Health Services takes fraud very seriously.
Fraud Reporting Links
Being a good steward of taxpayer dollars is foundational to our work of transforming lives. We want to ensure that only eligible families, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities receive public assistance.
The Department’s approach to fraud is strong and multi‐faceted: prevention, detection, referrals for benefits disqualification and for prosecution and cost-recovery. We coordinate with staff at DSHS Community Services Offices statewide, with county prosecutors, and with local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies when necessary.
The Office of Fraud and Accountability can’t and doesn’t do its work alone. It depends on DSHS staff, community partners and the public to report suspected fraud on the 24-hour Fraud Hotline, 1‐800‐562‐6906, or here.
We have many successes to report as a result of our efforts.
- Through a federal grant that set up a partnership between OFA and law enforcement, we focus on the use of social media to identify EBT card misuse. This is producing great results, such as detection of a proposed marijuana-for-EBT card swap.
- In 2016, courts ordered more than $1.37 million in restitution based on OFA cases.
- In 2016, OFA staff was able to identify and write overpayments totaling more than $5.5 million.
- OFA has a team of investigators committed to identifying and stopping fraud early.
- OFA is partnering with local law enforcement agencies across the state to stop public benefits trafficking.