Fake City Emails Targeting Somerville Permit Applicants

SOMERVILLE, MA — The city is warning Somerville permit applicants about fraudulent emails requesting payments that appear to come from city officials. The messages have used official logos, correct job titles, and the names of real city employees to appear legitimate.

City officials said Somerville will never request payments through gift cards, peer-to-peer payment apps such as Venmo or Cash App, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers to unknown accounts. Official city emails are sent from addresses ending in @somervillema.gov, while permit fees are requested through the city's standard billing and invoice processes or official online payment portals, including Citizenserve.

Residents who receive an unexpected payment request are advised not to click any links or send money before confirming that the message is legitimate. The city also recommends checking the sender's full email address rather than relying on the display name shown in the message.

Potential signs of a scam include urgent demands for immediate payment, requests to use payment methods the city does not accept, links directing users to websites outside the somervillema.gov domain, and invoices or fees that applicants were not previously notified about. Fraudulent messages may also use misspelled domains designed to resemble official city addresses, including replacing letters with similar-looking numbers or characters.

Permit applicants who receive suspicious messages regarding fees can forward them via email for verification. Residents who believe they have been targeted can also report phishing attempts to their email provider. At the same time, anyone who sent money in response to a fraudulent request is advised to contact police.

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