DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Scammers are targeting individuals submitting applications to DeKalb County, exploiting public records to request fraudulent wire transfers.
The scams have been directed at those interacting with the Department of Planning and Sustainability, which handles permits for zoning, plan reviews, and inspections. DeKalb County has issued warnings to alert residents that they will never request additional payments via wire transfer.
“In this day and time, we don’t have time to be giving our money away,” said Deondria Hill, expressing concern over the scams.
DeKalb County officials have responded to the scam by distributing flyers to remind residents that they will not ask for additional money through wire transfers.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Man killed firefighter and his wife, leaving 2-year-old alone with bodies in Cobb County
- Drivers left with few options when it comes to penalties for passing stopped buses
- Buddy Carter is asking Homeland Security to send federal troops into Atlanta
The move aims to prevent residents from falling victim to the scam.
According to an internal email obtained by Channel 2 Action News, scammers are using tools to scrape the county’s website for information, which they then use to create convincing requests for money.
“There are services that have thrown away addresses so you can use a unique email for each vendor,” said Brian Tant, cybersecurity expert with Raxis.
DeKalb County has made its IT teams and senior leadership aware of the issue and updated their emails to include notices that they will never request payment via wire transfer.
Residents are urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious requests for payment to DeKalb County officials.
The county continues to work on addressing the issue and protecting residents’ information.