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Officials warn of sophisticated scam emails targeting land‑use applicants
Summary
Bedminster officials and the Somerset Hills Public Safety Committee flagged a sophisticated scam that sent fake invoices (with the township logo and official names) demanding payment from land‑use applicants; the police will post resources and neighboring towns are being notified.
Township officials warned April 20 about a sophisticated scam that has targeted land‑use applicants by sending fraudulent payment requests that included the Bedminster logo and apparent township official names.
The mayor described a case in which an applicant received an email demanding payment of roughly $19,000 to proceed with an approved land‑use application. The email used a sender address resembling the township’s official .gov address but with a .com suffix and included names of local board officers and professionals, prompting the applicant to forward the message to township staff. “We looked at it and, five seconds we were able to say, like, no. This is not something that we do. This is obviously a scam,” the mayor said.
Administrator Miss Ray said the scam appeared sophisticated and warned other municipalities in the Somerset Hills Public Safety Committee to alert their boards and applicants. Police said they would post fraud‑prevention materials and links on the department website and coordinate with county partners. The police chief also flagged upcoming outreach opportunities, including an officer presentation at a high school and a DEA take‑back collection for expired medications on April 25.
Officials urged residents and applicants to verify suspicious requests by contacting township administration directly and to be wary of emails that appear to come from township addresses but use non‑.gov domains.
