City of Idaho Falls issues alert for fraudsters asking for payments

The following is a news request from the city of Idaho Falls.

IDAHO FALLS — The city of Idaho Falls is warning residents, business owners, and others to protect themselves from fraudulent payment requests.

It has come to the City of Idaho Falls’ attention that an individual or individuals posing as the City of Idaho Falls and the Community Development Services staff are sending fraudulent invoices requesting immediate payment. These invoices and requests for payment are not real, but intended to look like they are coming from the city.

We want to take this moment to remind everyone of the City of Idaho Falls’ practices for receiving payment for fees and how to protect yourselves from falling victim to fraudsters.

The City of Idaho Falls will not request payment over wire transfer. Secure payments are processed for development permits through your private portal on CityWorks.

While the Community Development Services Department may email a reminder of outstanding fees, we will not demand immediate payment or send an invoice unless requested.

Verify payment requests in person at a City of Idaho Falls Office or call the person requesting the payment. You can view city phone numbers on our website www.idahofalls.gov. (Don’t use the phone number a potential scammer is providing).

Carefully examine the email address, URL, and spelling used in any correspondence. Scammers use slight differences to trick your eye and gain your trust.

Be careful of what you download. Never open an email attachment from someone you don’t know.

Unfortunately, in this day and age email scams, phishing attempts and other cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It’s critical that we all stay vigilant to protect ourselves from falling victim. We do not want anyone to fall victim to fraud, but if you believe you have received any communication from anyone suspicious, please let us know and report information to authorities.

The FBI provides a comprehensive list of tips to avoid falling victim to such scams and we encourage everyone to read more at https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/business-email-compromise.