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FBI public service announcement on permit-phishing fraud

Public Sector Action
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H score 27
1 unique sources, 1 articles

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The FBI published a public service announcement warning that criminals are impersonating city and county planning and zoning officials to push fraudulent permit-fee payments. The advisory says the scammers use publicly available permit details to make messages look legitimate and pressure targets into paying by wire transfer, peer-to-peer payment, or cryptocurrency. It tells businesses and individuals with active land-use permit applications to verify messages and confirm any fees before paying.

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Timeline

  1. 09.03.2026 17:30 2 articles · 4mo ago

    FBI warns about permit-fee impersonation phishing

    Industry Or Public Sector Update

    The FBI issued a public service announcement warning that criminals are impersonating city and county planning and zoning board officials to target businesses and individuals with active land-use permit applications. The scammers use publicly available permit details to make unsolicited emails seem legitimate, including messages from non-governmental domains such as @usa.com, and they pressure recipients to pay fake permit fees by wire transfer, peer-to-peer payment, or cryptocurrency. The FBI advised recipients to verify the sender domain and email address, call the city or county government to confirm any outstanding fees, and file complaints with IC3 if they were targeted or victimized.

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