Cybercriminals impersonating city officials to steal permit payments, FBI says

The FBI said it is seeing victims across the U.S. impacted by a phishing campaign where cybercriminals pose as government officials and demand fraudulent payments for land-use permits. 

In a notice on Monday, the agency said people and businesses with active applications for the permits are being targeted with phishing emails that often include detailed, accurate information “including property addresses, case numbers, and the true names of city and county officials.”

The cybercriminals pretend to be city officials or zoning board members, demanding payment for fraudulent invoices through wire transfers or cryptocurrency. 

The FBI urged people to verify email addresses before interacting with them, noting that several malicious emails they have seen use "@usa.com" addresses instead of “.gov.”

The cybercriminals are using publicly-available permit information to make the phishing emails look legitimate. 

Many of the emails are on city letterhead and use professional language that make them look like real zoning documents. Several phishing emails contained detailed discussions of review processes, planning commission procedures, regulatory compliance and relevant ordinances.

Many of the emails demanded people pay online and included threats to initiate a sense of urgency. One tip the FBI offered is to always check the local county or city website and call the phone numbers listed there to verify any potential charges.

The scam emails are just one of the latest schemes to extract funds from U.S. victims. Cybercriminals stole more than $12 billion from Americans in 2024, prompting the U.S. to announce several measures in recent weeks designed to not only dismantle the cybercriminal organizations behind them but claw back stolen funds and return them to victims.

AI companies have also warned that cybercriminals are using their tools to make it easier for non-English speaking scammers to craft cogent phishing emails that sound legitimate.