Criminals Are Impersonating City And County Officials, Tricking Residents Into Paying Fees

PALM SPRINGS, CA — The Palm Springs Police Department warned residents and businesses Tuesday to stay vigilant for a nationwide scam in which scammers apparently impersonate city and county planing officials in an attempt to solicit fraudulent permit application fees for financial gain.

"Criminals are impersonating city and county planning or zoning officials and sending highly convincing emails that include real property addresses, permit numbers, and even names of government staff. Their goal: to trick you into paying fraudulent permit fees through wire transfers, peer-to- peer payment apps, or even cryptocurrency," the department stated in a news release.

According to the FBI, victims of the phishing scam have been identified nationwide. The agency lists common indicators of the scheme, including scammers sending emails containing detailed, accurate information about planning and zoning requests, property addresses, case numbers and true names of city and county officials.

The emails may use professional language, formatting and imagery consisting with legitimate government communications for planning and zoning applications, and attached PDF invoices containing itemized statements of purported feed and direct applicants to request payment instructions via email.

The police department offered the following tips:

— Remain cautious of unsolicited emails requesting immediate payment.

— Verify all payment requests directly with the city using official contact information.

— Carefully inspect email addresses for suspicious or non-government domains.

— Never send payments without independently confirming the legitimacy of the request.

Those wishing to report suspicious activity related to the scam may contact the department at 760-323-8116. Victims of the scam were encouraged to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.