Complaints about fake restaurant inspectors should be reported to the police and brought to the attention of Public Health Services (PHS), Licensure and Regulatory Office (L&R). This is a common scam perpetrated on mostly ethnic restaurants that may be unfamiliar with inspection processes. A perpetrator will usually call the business to schedule an appointment for an inspection, stating that someone reported becoming ill from eating at the restaurant or someone complained that the facility had many violations. At times, confidential information will be requested. Do not provide it. The perpetrator will attempt to schedule an appointment by phone. Usually one will not be able to call the number from which the call originated. The business proprietor should notify the perpetrator that they will immediately call the L&R Office to verify the call, as L&R does not schedule appointments in advance, unless it is an initial pre-opening inspection. The L&R inspector will fully identify themselves and provide contact information.

Send a service request to report complaints or possible scams, or go into office at: 2425 Reedie Drive, 9th Floor, Wheaton, MD. 20850.

Online users who would like to report a suspected inspector impersonator may submit a request by clicking on the Create Service Request button below. Please complete all of the fields in the Contact Information section then scroll down to the bottom of the page and provide a brief description of the request. Requestors who would like to remain anonymous, please indicate so in the ?Brief Description? Field. Anonymous means that the requestor?s name will not be released to anyone outside of the County, even under a Public Information Act (PIA) Request. The requestors name and phone number are requested so that the responding department can contact the requestor to obtain additional information that may be required to address the complaint.