Deputies are warning people of a new scam involving fraudulent emails that falsely claim to be from county or municipal planning and zoning departments.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office, in an online post, said, "Investigators have received reports of scammers impersonating local and county land-use agencies to collect illegitimate application or renewal fees related to zoning or planning requests."
According to deputies, these emails appear to come from an official source and may refer to property addresses, acreage, zoning classifications, or pending applications to pressure recipients into making payments.
In prior reported cases, the emails would request payment via wire transfer and aim to have people reply directly for payment instructions.
According to deputies, the scam emails often originate from addresses using the following format:
Planning.[County or Municipality Name]@usa[.]com
