Among the many famous lines from the Godfather movies is “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”  While contractors may not consider anyone to be their outright enemy, they do need to be aware of what can be used against them in the event an employee, competitor, or other interested party files a whistleblower suit.  Recent research conducted by Allen Federal shows that plaintiff attorneys provide easy to follow information and suggestions of potential problem areas right on their website home pages.  One firm even has an article with the phrase “GSA Pricing Fraud Basics” to assist anyone who’s not sure whether their targeted company has incurred potential violations.  The temptation starts by offering a free consultation.  Would-be whistleblowers don’t have to put any skin in the game to get started. Areas of suggested malfeasance include ones typically associated with GSA Schedule contracting, such as defective pricing and Trade Agreements Act compliance, but extend to issues such as size standard fraud and bid rigging allegations.  Plaintiff attorneys encourage potential whistleblowers to gather “inside” information on a company’s practices as well.  It’s critical that company compliance officials and senior executives, therefore, know that their staff and colleagues may be seeking company information for their own potential gain.  A huge incentive for whistleblowers is their ability to share in any financial recovery.  New statistics released by the Justice Department show that an average of 13 whistleblower cases are filed each week.  While many of these are healthcare-related, there are still more than enough in government acquisition to merit the attention of contractors.  Contractors should recognize this and consider implementing their own programs that reward people who uncover potential problems.  This doesn’t obviate the need to comply with mandatory reporting requirements, but it can be far better for a company to assess their potential risks and make disclosures proactively, rather than have a new whistleblower complaint catch them by surprise. In any case, it pays to know what your potential opposition is up to before they fix their sites on you.