MONTEREY COUNTY — County of Monterey is seeing a repeat of a recent scam targeting individuals and businesses involved in projects pending before the County’s Planning Commission and is reminding the public to be cautious if they receive documents from the County that do not look legitimate.
The scheme involves fake invoices. In March, the County reported fraudulent invoices requesting payments exceeding $14,000 reported by at least three recipients, and in late July, another applicant received a fake invoice for $5,000. Fortunately, the applicant forwarded the document to the County and was not taken in by the scam.
“Fortunately, no applicant has been taken in by this scheme that we are aware of, but we want to remind both applicants and any resident who receives a document, which appears to be from the County but does not look legitimate, to contact the county agency you are working with directly,” according to Maia Carroll, the County’s public information officer.
Applicants who have been working on projects with the County will see that while the fake documents include the County Seal and address, it is suspicious that a wire transfer would be requested and that the bill would come from the Planning Commission, which does not request financial payments. Information about online payments for permitting is available at tinyurl.com/mub38mv4.
The County urges residents, businesses and developers to take the following precautions:
- Verify the Source: Official County invoices will come from verified County of Monterey email addresses and include proper documentation.
- Contact the County Directly: If you receive an unexpected invoice related to a county project, contact the County’s Planning Commission/Permit Center at 831-755-5025 to confirm its authenticity.
- Report Suspicious Activity: If you believe you have received a fraudulent invoice, report it immediately to the County’s Permit Center at 831-755-5025. You may also report to the District Attorney’s Office by phone or email: 831-647-7770 or co****************@**************ey.gov.
- Do Not Reply to Suspicious Emails: If you believe you have received a fraudulent email from the County of Monterey that does not end in .gov, print it for your records, but do not reply.
