Fake city hall email demands payment for your building or zoning permit
Criminals impersonating city or county officials email permit applicants citing real permit numbers and property addresses, then demand payment for fees by wire transfer, peer-to-peer app, or cryptocurrency.
Also known as: permit fee phishing, city hall impersonation, zoning permit scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Do not click any link or pay any invoice received by email
- 2 Call your city or county permit office directly using a phone number from the official .gov website — never a number in the email
- 3 Forward the suspicious email to your municipality's IT or communications department
- 4 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ Unsolicited email about a permit you hold — real city offices send mailed invoices, not unsolicited payment emails
- ⚠ Payment demanded by wire transfer, Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, or cryptocurrency
- ⚠ Email correctly references your permit number or property address — scammers pull this from public records
- ⚠ Sender domain is not an official city or county .gov address
- ⚠ Urgent deadline threats: permit cancellation or fines if you don't pay immediately
Sources
- FBI IC3 — PSA260309: Criminals Impersonating City and County Officials (Mar 2026)
- Palm Beach County — permit phishing warning (Mar 2026)
- Novato, CA — permit payment phishing warning (Apr 2026)
- City of Madison WI — Permit phishing scam warning (Apr 2026)
- Seattle Building Connections — FBI warns of criminals impersonating city and county officials (Jun 1, 2026)