East End phishing offers fake site plan approval

East End residents and developers should beware of phishing email scams asking for wired funds to process site plan applications, officials across several municipalities said.

Some of the most recent "malicious phishing e-mails currently circulating" have imitated members of the Southampton Town Department of Land Management and sought fees for application approvals, the Southampton Town Police Department said in a Wednesday news release. The messages "are traditionally accompanied with an invoice and bank wire instructions," the release said.

The towns of East Hampton, Riverhead and Shelter Island, as well as the Village of Southampton, have all warned of phishing emails impersonating planning and land use staff and requesting funds to finalize applications. Officials throughout the East End urge anyone receiving such messages to verify they came from a municipality's “.gov" email account. Applicants should never click on any links or attachments, send payment or directly reply to emails deemed suspicious. Instead, they should reach the appropriate department using contact information found on a municipality’s official website.

The emails circulating in Southampton Town told applicants that the land use department’s staff "has officially recommended approval of your application," according to town police. The impostors added that they "kindly" request payment to "advance your project toward final endorsement" and "finalize the remaining administrative procedures and prepare your documentation for final execution."

One "obvious tipoff" the emails were phony is that the town collects payment when applications are made, not at the end of the planning process, Southampton Town Planning & Development Administrator Janice Scherer told Newsday via email. Her department also does not accept wire transfers for ordinary business.

These emails did not go to residents and developers who submitted site plan applications, but rather "the local land use professionals (attorneys and expediters)," she added. But to anyone who receives them, she said: "verify, verify, verify!"

"If any additional payment is needed, we will be reaching out directly and people can come into Town Hall to pay via check or credit card," Scherer said. "We communicate via official email, with our titles and contact information. Always look out for our .gov email to make sure it is real."