Southold warns of fraudulent Zoning Board emails demanding money
Southold officials are warning residents about fraudulent emails posing as messages from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals and demanding money.
The town issued the warning Friday after learning of emails that direct recipients to send payments through links or attachments. Officials said the messages did not originate from the town’s email system and are using the town’s name without authorization.
Police Chief Steven Grattan said there is an unconfirmed report that one resident may have sent money in response to the scam. The resident had not reported the incident to Southold Town police as of Friday, he said.
The ZBA does not request fee payments by email, according to the town. Application fees are established by Town Code and paid through the town’s normal processes at Town Hall or the ZBA office.
The warning comes less than nine months after a Nov. 24 cyberattack crippled Southold Town’s computer systems, knocking out email, limiting access to public records and forcing police officers to write reports and tickets by hand. Nearly all town systems were restored by Dec. 9, but the town’s Laserfiche online records portal remained inaccessible to the public until June.
Following that attack, the town moved ahead with $500,000 in cybersecurity upgrades. Officials said in June that Laserfiche had been more isolated from the town’s internal systems as part of the security changes. No suspect has been publicly identified in the November attack.
Residents who receive a suspicious email should not send money, click links, open attachments or provide personal or financial information. Official town emails use “@southoldtownny.gov” or “town.southold.ny.us” addresses, though officials cautioned that scammers can disguise, or “spoof,” legitimate addresses. Anyone unsure whether a request is legitimate should contact the ZBA directly.
Anyone who has already sent money or provided financial information should immediately contact their bank or card issuer and report the incident to Southold Town police at 631-765-2600. The town also recommends reporting fraudulent messages to the Federal Trade Commission, FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center and New York State Attorney General’s office.
