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Aspen planning staff warns applicants after phishing scam nets payment
Summary
City planning staff told the commission that an applicant fell victim to a sophisticated phishing scam that impersonated a city invoice and caused a significant wire payment; the city filed a police report and will notify applicants and industry users via Salesforce.
Planning staff reported that an applicant whose case recently appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission was targeted by a sophisticated phishing email impersonating a city invoice. Ben, a city planning staffer, told the Historic Preservation Commission that an emailed invoice directed payment to a fraudulent account and that the applicant wired a significant sum before realizing it was fraudulent; staff has filed a police report and is coordinating with IT and finance.
Ben said the city will notify people with Salesforce accounts who are associated with applications, share the fraudulent email and advise recipients not to respond to or pay invoices received outside official city payment portals. “Please do not call the city, email or respond to this email for payment requirements,” he told commissioners, and staff said the city accepts payments only through its official portal and will work to improve applicant guidance.
