Send Us a Tip

Do you want to send a tip to the researchers and investigators at the Project On Government Oversight?  

As a watchdog organization, POGO has a long history of working with brave individuals fighting to report federal wrongdoing, going back to 1981. Many of those with whom POGO has worked opted to remain anonymous.  

If you share a tip with our research and investigations team, POGO may be able to further research your concerns, bring public attention to any wrongdoing, and alert those who can bring about change. Please note that while we do read and evaluate all tips we receive, we cannot investigate or respond to every tip.  

How does POGO choose to investigate tips? We evaluate tips based on the following criteria: 

  • Opening for positive systemic change in the federal government  
  • Capacity for POGO to make a unique contribution  
  • Ability to broaden public awareness  
  • Urgency for action  
  • Availability of inside sources or documents 

If you have a tip to share with us, please use the questions below to determine whether POGO is the right organization to work with. 

Send Us a Tip

Yes. I have information about federal corruption, waste, fraud, or abuse. POGO could be the right place to bring your tip. Please continue on through the questions below.  

Yes. I have information about state or local corruption, waste, fraud, or abuse. If your information does not involve the federal government, then we cannot investigate your allegations. POGO only investigates state or local issues if they involve federal money or oversight. In most cases, state level tips are best handled by a local news outlet or a local organization, office, or official.  

Yes. I have information about a private company. POGO only investigates allegations that involve federal oversight of private companies, or private companies that are federal contractors or have received other federal funds, including grants and subsidies. You may want to visit whistleblowerinfo.com or another of the sites and organizations we recommend on our Legal and Advocacy Resources for Whistleblowers page.

Yes. This tip could help shed light on widespread waste, fraud, or abuse of power in the federal government. POGO could be the right place to bring your tip. Please continue on through the questions below. 

No. This tip speaks to an individual case of waste, fraud, or abuse that was likely a one-time incident. POGO does not investigate cases of fraud or waste unless they are directly representative of systemic or widespread problems in the federal government or its contractors.

Yes. Does that matter? Federal employees are bound by specific rules for making disclosures about government operations. It might be a good idea to visit our resource page to know your rights and read more about the risks that come with coming forward.

Yes. I do. Please let us know in your tip that you have supporting documents, or you can share your documents with us through OnionShare. Sending supportive documentation can help POGO substantiate your tip and potentially provide a more robust investigation.

Yes. Can you represent me? Unfortunately, we cannot provide legal advice or representation. We do, however, have a list of resources for whistleblowers that may be of use.

Yes. I do. Great. Please send your tip to us through Signal, email, postal mail, or OnionShare (see below). 

No. What do you do to protect tipsters?  

First off, POGO will never publish the identity of a tipster without their permission.  

If you are a government employee, it is important to use your personal device and email account when reaching out to POGO.  

Do not use your government equipment to contact POGO with tips.  

Signal: You can also download the Signal app and send us an encrypted message via Signal at 1-202-658-5828. For enhanced protection, set your Signal messages to auto-disappear after a specified period of time. 

Plaintext: You can send tips to our secure email server at [email protected]. However, be aware that most email providers store emails unencrypted and can be compelled to disclose their contents subject to a search warrant.  

End-to-end encryption: If you are looking to send tips with end-to-end encryption, which can only be read by the recipients of the emails, create a Proton Mail account and email us at [email protected].  

Anonymity: Privacy and anonymity are not the same thing. If you’d like to share tips and documents anonymously, please use OnionShare or postal mail.  

OnionShare: OnionShare is a free tool developed to securely transfer files. OnionShare uses an anonymity network to minimize your observable internet traffic.  

Snail Mail: Mailing the document can also offer anonymity and provides a limited paper trail. Our address is below.

Project On Government Oversight
Attn: Tipline 
PO Box 34758 
Washington, DC 20043