Costly Scam Circulating Mendham Prompts Warning

MENDHAM, NJ — Mendham Borough is warning residents and property owners about fraudulent emails seeking payments for phony land-use application fees.

The borough said it has been made aware of a "spear phishing" scam involving emails that may appear to come from the Mendham Borough Joint Land Use Board.

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The fraudulent messages may reference a recipient's specific property, block and lot, application, or a supposed "Application Approval Fee," according to the borough. Some messages may also include an invoice and instructions for submitting payment or responding by email.

"This email is NOT from the Borough of Mendham, the Joint Land Use Board, or the Borough's Planning and Zoning Office," officials said in an alert to residents.

Borough officials said the fraudulent email they identified was sent from planning.dept-boroughofmendham.nj@usa.com, which is not an official Mendham Borough email address.

Anyone who receives a suspicious message should not reply, open or download attachments, click links, provide personal or financial information, or make a payment based on instructions in the email, officials said.

Residents are encouraged to retain suspicious emails as evidence, if possible, and report them to the borough.

Anyone uncertain about whether an invoice or email is legitimate should contact the borough directly using contact information listed on the official Mendham Borough website rather than information contained in the suspicious message.

Those who have already responded, clicked a link, opened an attachment, provided financial information or sent money should take steps to secure their accounts and contact their financial institution immediately, officials said.

The borough is also asking residents to share the warning with other property owners and applicants who could receive similar messages.