Monterey officials are warning residents, property owners and contractors about a phishing scam in which fraudsters impersonate city staff and use real permit and property information to demand fake payments.
In an alert Thursday, Monterey officials warned that scammers are sending emails containing accurate details about actual or past development projects, including architectural review permits, property addresses and zoning information. The city believes scammers may be pulling the information from public agendas and staff reports to make the messages appear legitimate.
The fraudulent emails use unofficial addresses, including [email protected], while using the names of actual city officials. The messages falsely claim a permit application is ready for final approval and instruct recipients to reply for payment instructions for an alleged “application approval fee.”
“This is a highly sophisticated scam that uses detailed, accurate information about submitted projects to make it incredibly believable that the sender is legitimately from the City, even though they are not,” Assistant City Manager Nat Rojanasathira said in a statement released by the city. “While City staff do send legitimate emails asking applicants how they prefer to pay, these requests will always come from an official @monterey.org or @monterey.gov email address. No matter how authentic a message may appear, the City of Monterey will never ask our residents to process payments or send payment receipts by replying to an unofficial, non-government email address.”
Residents are urged not to reply to suspicious payment requests or send money, wire transfers or financial information through unofficial email addresses.
Anyone who receives a questionable permit invoice or payment request should independently verify it by calling the Monterey Planning Office at 831-646-3885 or the Building Office at 831-646-3891.
The city also recommends reporting fraudulent emails to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Trade Commission. People who received an email falsely claiming the City of Monterey was requesting payment can contact the Monterey Police Department Investigations Unit at [email protected].
For official city services and payment information, residents are urged to use the city’s official website at monterey.gov or contact the Planning Division at [email protected].