Fraudsters impersonate Lacey personnel in permit payment scam

Through emails, phone calls, text messages and physical mail, scammers are impersonating City of Lacey staff to pressure permit holders into paying fees they do not owe. 

The city warned in an advisory on Friday, May 8, that the scheme is part of a nationwide pattern targeting individuals and businesses with active building or land use permits. 

Fraudsters tell targets that outstanding or final fees are due and delays are imminent without quick payment. That threat, the city said, is fabricated. 

"We will never threaten immediate delays or penalties via email for unpaid fees," the advisory notes, warning permit holders not to act on such messages. 

The city said permit holders can cross-check any suspicious message against two markers. Official City of Lacey emails come only from addresses ending in @cityoflacey.org. 

Spoofed websites are part of the scheme as well. Scammers have been using domain names altered to resemble the city's official address, with the advisory citing cityoflacey-gov.org and cityoflaceywa.org as fraudulent examples. Payment methods are another way to tell the difference. 

"The city will not request payment via email, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or apps like Zelle or Venmo," the advisory states. "You should only make payments to the city through our secure online portal or in person." 

Anyone who receives a suspicious fee notice should not pay. Instead, the city advised contacting its offices through official information at the city’s official web page to confirm whether any amount is actually owed. 

The city did not say how many permit holders had been contacted or whether any fraudulent payments had been made.