Marblehead Police issued a fraud alert after residents were targeted by a nationwide phishing and impersonation scam involving people with active applications before local planning and zoning boards.
Marblehead Planning Board Chair Marc Liebman shared with the Current one fraudulent email sent to a local resident. The sender purported to be Liebman and instructed the applicant to settle an attached invoice, return proof of payment and submit a signed copy of the invoice.
Notably, the message stated that checks were no longer being accepted because of processing delays and insufficient-funds payments. It directed the applicant to use another payment method.
According to MPD, “Scammers scrape public meeting agendas, planning board minutes and zoning notices to identify individuals, builders or business owners with real, pending applications. Emails or notices use spoofed sender addresses, real official names, accurate case numbers, property addresses and official town logos or seals.”
Marblehead Police offered the following advice to help residents avoid falling victim to the scam:
- Marblehead’s planning and zoning boards never request application fees, permit fees or fines via wire transfer, cryptocurrency or gift cards.
- Always check email addresses and domains. The email purportedly sent by Liebman came from the fraudulent address Marblehead.Planning@usa.com.
- Do not reply to suspicious emails, click links or call phone numbers listed in the messages. Instead, look up official town department phone numbers and contact the departments directly.
