The City of Yakima is warning community members to be wary of fraudulent emails targeting people involved in planning and permitting processes.  The emails falsely appear to be from City Community Development Department or Planning Division staff and request wire transfers or payments for fake invoices.

City officials say the scam appears to be part of a nationwide trend in which criminals impersonate government agencies to obtain payments or sensitive information.

Contrary to the fraudulent emails, the City’s Community Development Department and Planning Division do not request sensitive personal or financial information through unsolicited emails.

Payments related to planning or permitting processes are accepted online through the City website at https://www.yakimawa.gov/services/codes/permits/ or in person at Yakima City Hall.

“The information in the fraudulent emails appears to have been gathered from publicly available sources, including the City’s permitting portal,” said Communications & Public Affairs Director Randy Beehler.  “No data systems were breached, and no private or confidential information was compromised.”

Community members who receive suspicious or unexpected emails claiming to be from the City of Yakima Community Development Department or Planning Division should not respond or send payment. Legitimate emails from a City division or department will always include yakimawa.gov  at the end of the email address.

If anyone has questions about an email they receive that is purportedly from the City of Yakima Community Development Department or Planning Division can check its legitimacy by calling the Community Development Department at 509-575-6126 or by checking in person at Yakima City Hall.