FBI Issues Warning on Fake Permit Fee Phishing Scam
In March 2026, the FBI issued a public alert regarding a sophisticated phishing campaign where cybercriminals impersonated city and county planning officials to defraud property owners. By leveraging publicly accessible permit records, these actors sent emails to individuals with active applications, demanding payments for fictitious permit fees via wire transfers, peer-to-peer transfers, or cryptocurrency. The emails were meticulously crafted, incorporating real permit details to enhance credibility, leading victims to authorize payments that bypassed traditional fraud detection mechanisms. This scheme resulted in significant financial losses and highlighted vulnerabilities in existing payment verification processes. The urgency of this issue is underscored by the rapid escalation of government impersonation scams, which nearly doubled in reported losses to approximately $798 million in 2025. The increasing sophistication of these attacks, particularly their ability to exploit publicly available data and evade standard fraud detection systems, necessitates immediate attention and the development of more robust security measures to protect individuals and businesses from such fraudulent activities.
Kill Chain
