While persons who conspire to violate antitrust laws try hard to keep their actions secret, there are signs of their actions you can detect.

- Any evidence that two or more sellers of similar products have agreed to price their products in a certain way, to sell only a certain quantity of their product, or to sell only to certain customers in certain areas.

- More than one seller of very similar products sold under different brand names make equal and substantial price changes at the same time.

- A seller tells you "We can't sell this product to you. We have an agreement with (their competitor) that only they can sell to you."

Bid Rigging

- Far fewer bidders than normal submit bids on a project or sale upon which they would normally bid.

- Several bidders submit identical, to the penny, bids on the same project or sale.

- A company which has previously been awarded contracts for a certain service or in a particular area is always the low bidder on new projects for that service or area.

- A certain group of bidders seem to be awarded contracts on a regular or rotating basis.

- An unusual and unexplainable large dollar difference between the winning bid and all other bids. The "low ball" bid.

- A certain bidder bids far higher on some projects than others for no apparent logical reason.

None of the above signs represent conclusive evidence of antitrust violations. However they are important indications and the professional investigators in the Justice Department want to hear about them.

Reporting Signs of Antitrust Violations
Report Possible Violations explains how to report suspected violations or suspicious practices to the Antitrust Division by e-mail, phone, or mail.

Antitrust Division, Department of Justice
Rookery Building
Suite 600
209 South LaSalle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 353-7530

Antitrust Division, Department of Justice|
Plaza Nine Building
55 Erieview Plaza, Suite 700
Cleveland, Ohio 44114-1816
(216) 522-4070

Antitrust Division, Department of Justice
Thanksgiving Tower
Suite 4950
1601 Elm Street
Dallas. Texas 75201
(214) 880-9401

Antitrust Division, Department of Justice
Room 3630
26 Federal Plaza
New York, New York 10278-0096
(212) 264-0390

Antitrust Division, Department of Justice
Curtis Center
One Independence Square West
7th & Walnut Streets, Suite 650
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
(215) 597-7401