FBI Issues Nationwide Alert on Phishing Scheme Targeting Zoning Permit Applicants
The bureau says scammers exploit public permit records, pressuring applicants to send non‑reversible payments through emails that mimic official correspondence.
Overview
- A March 9 FBI public service announcement warns that criminals are posing as city and county planning or zoning officials to solicit fraudulent permit fees.
- Attackers harvest public permit details to cite real case numbers, property addresses, and officials’ names, boosting the credibility of unsolicited emails.
- Messages often come from non-government or lookalike domains and include PDF invoices that instruct applicants to request payment directions by email.
- Victims are pushed to pay by wire transfer, peer‑to‑peer apps, or cryptocurrency, with urgency framed around avoiding permit delays.
- The FBI advises checking sender domains and confirming fees by calling official numbers, and it asks victims to report incidents to IC3 as cases span the U.S.