Officials in the Town of Olive are warning residents about a scam involving emails sent in the name of the town’s planning division requesting payment of exorbitant, fictitious fees.
Supervisor Jim Sofranko said his office began fielding inquiries around Jan. 21 from residents who had received the fraudulent messages. About six people contacted the town, he said, and the scam appeared to target residents who were either currently in the Planning Board review process or had recently completed it.
“The emails were signed by the secretary of the planning board with an invoice for like $6,000,” Sofranko said. “There was an invoice number with itemized stuff that we don’t even have in our fee structures.”
The emails, which came from the address “planning.olivebuilingdept@usa.com”, included a cover letter claiming to be a reminder about “outstanding Application Review Fees associated with your Special Use Permit Application.” The message contained a full page outlining the supposed importance of fees, followed by an itemized list totaling $6,953.
The email requested payment by wire transfer, which Sofranko said the town does not accept. Legitimate planning board fees, he added, typically range from less than $100 to about $500.
The town posted warnings about the scam on its website and Facebook page. Sofranko said town IT staff believe the scammers hacked Planning Board Secretary Janelle Perry’s email account. He said the town has blocked the sender from its email server and reported the incident to the Federal Trade Commission’s fraud unit and the FBI’s Internet Complaint Center.
The town is not aware of anyone having sent payment to the scammers, Sofranko said.
Phishing scams, which can take the form of emails, QR codes, link manipulation or webpage hijacking, have been around since the early 1990s when hackers used AOL to steal credit card information. The New York State Attorney General’s office maintains guidance on its website about how to avoid phishing scams, including never responding to unsolicited emails and regularly reviewing credit card statements.
“We all get these in some form of fashion in our email histories,” Sofranko said of phishing scams. “If people see a bill come from the town on an application that hasn’t been resolved, hopefully they will respond to the town directly.”
Jim Rich is a senior reporter for The Overlook. You can reach him at jim@theoverlooknews.com.