Ethical Hacking News
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned that scammers are impersonating city and county officials in phishing attacks targeting US cities and counties. These scammers are tricking victims into paying inflated fees associated with land-use permits by sending unsolicited emails that appear to come from legitimate sources.
The FBI has issued a public warning about a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting individuals and organizations in the US. The scammers impersonate city or county officials, claiming the recipient has outstanding fees associated with their permit application. The attackers use publicly available information to identify potential targets, making the messages seem legitimate. Common indicators of this phishing scheme include non-governmental domains, attachments asking for more details via email, and tactics pushing for quicker payments. The FBI is urging citizens and businesses to exercise extreme caution when receiving suspicious emails or messages. Victims are advised to verify message authenticity by checking the domain and contacting their local government, and to report incidents to the IC3.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a public warning to citizens, businesses, and government agencies across the United States, alerting them to a sophisticated phishing campaign that is impersonating officials from cities and counties. The FBI warns that these scammers are targeting individuals and organizations who have submitted applications for land-use permits, with the ultimate goal of tricking them into paying inflated fees associated with these permits.
According to the FBI, the scammers are using publicly available information to identify potential targets, making their malicious messages seem legitimate and increasing the likelihood that unsuspecting recipients will fall victim to this scheme. The phishing attacks often appear to come from city or county planning and zoning board officials, who claim that the recipient has outstanding fees associated with their permit application.
The scammers will typically send unsolicited emails citing the recipient's permit information, zoning application numbers, and/or property addresses. These messages will instruct the victim to pay invoices for these fees via wire transfer, peer-to-peer payment, or cryptocurrency. The FBI notes that there are several common indicators that can help detect this type of phishing scheme, including messages sent from non-governmental domains (such as @usa.com), attachments that ask recipients to request more details via email, and various tactics used to push for quicker payments.
In addition to the phishing campaign, the FBI has also warned about other sophisticated scams in the past, including attacks that impersonate government or law enforcement officials by spoofing authentic phone numbers. The agency has also cautioned against scams that claim to be from FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) employees, who offer to "help" victims recover money lost to other scammers.
Furthermore, the FBI has been aware of a rise in AI-generated audio deepfakes being used in voice phishing attacks targeting U.S. officials. The agency's warning comes as part of its ongoing efforts to educate citizens and businesses about the importance of being vigilant against these types of scams.
In light of this new threat, the FBI is urging all individuals and organizations to exercise extreme caution when receiving unsolicited emails or messages that seem suspicious. The agency advises recipients to verify the authenticity of any message by checking the domain and email address, as well as contacting their local city or county government to confirm outstanding fees.
For those who have already been targeted or fallen victim to this scam, the FBI is advising them to file a complaint with the IC3 and share the email address, date of email, and/or phone number used by the scammers, as well as any other financial information provided. This will help the FBI track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
In conclusion, the FBI's latest warning highlights the ongoing threat posed by sophisticated phishing campaigns targeting US cities and counties. As these scams continue to evolve and become more convincing, it is essential for citizens and businesses to remain vigilant and take proactive steps to protect themselves from falling victim to these types of attacks.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/FBI-Warns-of-Sophisticated-Phishing-Campaign-Targeting-US-Cities-and-Counties-ehn.shtml
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-warns-of-phishing-attacks-impersonating-us-city-county-officials/
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber/alerts/2025/senior-us-officials-impersonated-in-malicious-messaging-campaign
Published: Mon Mar 9 12:58:23 2026 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
