Permit-fee impersonation phishing campaign targeting land-use applicants
Campaign
Summary
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A phishing campaign is tricking land-use permit applicants with fake fee requests, increasing the risk of payment fraud and exposing a specific public-facing permit workflow. The operation uses impersonation of city and county planning officials and publicly available permit details to make the messages look legitimate. Victims are being pushed to pay through wire transfer, peer-to-peer payment, or cryptocurrency.
Related Happenings
FBI public service announcement on permit-phishing fraud
Public Sector Action
First: 09.03.2026 17:30
Last: 09.03.2026 17:30
Sources 1
How related:
In a public service announcement published on Monday, the bureau said that the criminals behind this campaign are identifying potential victims using publicly available information, which also makes their malicious messages seem legitimate and helps them trick suspicious targets.
About this happening:
The **FBI** published a public service announcement warning that criminals are impersonating **city and county planning and zoning officials** to push **fraudulent permit-fee paym...
FBI public service announcement on permit-phishing fraud
Public Sector ActionHow related: In a public service announcement published on Monday, the bureau said that the criminals behind this campaign are identifying potential victims using publicly available information, which also makes their malicious messages seem legitimate and helps them trick suspicious targets.
About this happening: The **FBI** published a public service announcement warning that criminals are impersonating **city and county planning and zoning officials** to push **fraudulent permit-fee paym...
Kimsuky QR-code spear-phishing campaign against think tanks and government entities
Campaign
First: 09.01.2026 07:46
Last: 09.01.2026 07:46
Sources 1
About this happening:
The **FBI** warned that **Kimsuky (APT43)** is running a **QR-code spear-phishing campaign** that targets **think tanks, academic institutions, and U.S. and foreign government ent...
Kimsuky QR-code spear-phishing campaign against think tanks and government entities
CampaignAbout this happening: The **FBI** warned that **Kimsuky (APT43)** is running a **QR-code spear-phishing campaign** that targets **think tanks, academic institutions, and U.S. and foreign government ent...
Timeline
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09.03.2026 17:30 2 articles · 2mo ago
FBI warns of permit-fee impersonation phishing
Initial DisclosureThe FBI warned that criminals are impersonating U.S. city and county planning and zoning board officials in phishing emails targeting businesses and individuals with active land-use permit applications. The messages use publicly available permit information, including permit details, zoning application numbers, property addresses, and scheduled hearing details, to request fraudulent fees and pressure recipients to pay by wire transfer, peer-to-peer payment, or cryptocurrency. The FBI advised recipients to verify sender domains and email addresses and to confirm any outstanding fees directly with the local city or county government before paying.
Show sources
- FBI warns of phishing attacks impersonating US city, county officials — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 09.03.2026 17:30
- FBI warns of phishing attacks impersonating US city, county officials — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 09.03.2026 17:30