By Mondell Keck | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS — If you’ve received an email recently claiming to be from the city’s “planning department,” make all due haste and delete it.
That’s because it’s a phishing attempt — one that aims to relieve you of your sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers or other personal data.
“This email is not from the city of Brookings,” said Brookings Police Chief Michael Drake wrote in a news release. “Anyone who receives such an email should not respond to it. In addition, they should not provide payment information or submit payment via this email.”
Responding to an inquiry from The Brookings Register, Drake said that because the investigation is still underway, he didn’t have information regarding how many calls/emails/contacts have been received regarding the scam, nor if anyone has lost money.
He did, however, warn recipients to:
- Not click on any links in the email.
- Delete the email.
- Report the email as spam/phishing through your email provider.
The email in question requests payment for a zoning application submitted to the city. According to the release, city staffers will not email people directly to request bank information or any form of payment or wire transfer via email or phone.
That said, the city’s Community Development Department does use an online portal known as SmartGov — found at https://tinyurl.com/bdc9htus — to process zoning applications and their fees. People can pay via the SmartGov portal or in person at the Brookings City & County Government Center, 520 Third St.
If folks have questions about a message claiming to be from the department, they can call the office at 605-692-6629. Furthermore, people worried about potential scam emails can call the BPD at 605-692-2113.
— Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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