Scammers attack Broward County residents, fake county emails urge wire payments in housing application scam
Broward County, Florida – Residents and business owners are being urged to stay alert after reports surfaced of fraudulent emails targeting people who recently submitted plat applications with the Housing and Urban Planning Division. The communications try to get people to give money using wire transfers, which the county doesn’t use.
County officials said that the emails look legitimate, but they have a lot of warning indicators in them. The return email address, which ends in “usa.com,” is one of the most obvious problems. Any email address that doesn’t end in “broward.org” should be treated with suspicion.
Another red indicator is the tone of the communication. The emails generate a sense of urgency, making people feel that they need to pay a purported bill right now. The sender also asks the receiver to reply to get wire transfer instructions and then asks for evidence of payment after the transfer is finished. Officials believe that these are frequent ways to trick people into paying.
County workers stressed that this method is not how the real plat application process works. When you send in an application to the Housing and Urban Planning Division, you must also send in payment. Broward County will never accept wire transactions; only checks are accepted.
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The Platting Section also doesn’t send out bills. Instead, applicants get a pre-application certification receipt that clearly shows how much they owe before they pay. If you get a notification saying you need a separate invoice, you should be cautious.
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People who have gotten an email like this one should think about what to do before they do anything. People and companies in the area can contact 954-357-6634 to find out if a message is real. Officials also say that if you get an unexpected or unwanted payment request that says it’s from Broward County, you should call 311 and ask for the Consumer Protection Division.
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County officials said that the best way to avoid being a victim of fraud is to check payment requests before giving money.
