CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Chesterfield is warning residents of fraudulent emails targeting some residents, falsley claiming to be from the county's Planning Commission.
The emails have been sent from the address "planning.chesterfield.gov@usa.com" and reference a "conditional use approval fee."
Chesterfield officials said the scam includes skimmed information from publicly available zoning documents and that's why the emails appear to be legitimate at first glance.
"These emails are not associated with the county in any way," a news release said.
The county reminds residents that they will never send out an email asking for payment via wire transfer, credit card or Automated Clearing House (ACH). Any applicant who receives an email requesting a wire transfer, credit card or ACH funds for application fees should disregard the email.
To ensure the legitimacy of any application fees, applicants are advised to:
- Carefully review the sender’s email address. All official county emails will end with “@chesterfield.gov.” Be extremely cautious of any communication claiming to be from Chesterfield that does not follow this format.
- Never respond to emails requesting payment via wire transfer, credit card or ACH.
- Verify any invoices or communications by directly contacting Chesterfield County at 804-748-1000.
Anyone who has sent money or feels they have been a victim of a scam can contact the Chesterfield County Police Department’s non-emergency line at 804-748-1251.
Those who receive a suspicious email about the approval of a planning, zoning or building-related application or have doubts about an email’s authenticity, are asked to contact the Planning Department at 804-748-1050.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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