The City of New Braunfels is warning local property owners about an email fraud scheme targeting those currently doing business with the City’s Neighborhood and Community Planning Department.
Over the last two days, a number of emails have gone out to various property owners purporting to be from the City of New Braunfels. The email claims to be a formal notice from the City about pending payments due for Planning & Development fees and includes an attachment with an official-looking invoice along with instructions to wire transfer the funds.
THIS IS A SCAM and these are NOT legitimate emails from the City of New Braunfels. All Planning & Development fees are invoiced through an online system and all payments are made through that system. The City of New Braunfels will not invoice property owners by email and will never require a wire transfer to pay for fees and other charges. Additionally, all emails from City of New Braunfels employees will come from an email address ending in @newbraunfels.gov.
In the interest of keeping the public informed, the City wanted to make sure the community was aware of this scam before anyone else received similar emails. If you do, the City advises property owners to NOT reply to the email, and do NOT wire funds. Instead, those who receive fraudulent emails are asked to contact the City of New Braunfels Planning & Development Services Department at 830-221-4069 to report the incident.
It should also be noted that there are a wide variety of scams targeting the general public, with scam artists constantly thinking up new ways to separate you from your hard-earned money. Beyond fraudulent emails, scammers can also pretend to be law enforcement agencies, IRS agents, Publisher’s Clearinghouse employees, student loan agents, or credit card debt agents. Please remember:
- If you didn’t initiate the interaction, be VERY wary.
- BE VERY CAREFUL about giving out personal information over the telephone, especially when the phone call was unsolicited.
- Legitimate businesses or government organizations will NEVER ask you to make a payment by purchasing gift cards or temporary credit cards.
- BE WARY about letting anyone into your home or onto your property without proper identification, marked vehicles, etc., especially when that person shows up unannounced or unsolicited.
There are a number of other tips for avoiding becoming a victim of scam artists. To learn more about the types of fraud that you could face, visit the FBI’s Common Fraud Schemes website.