Grand Island, Neb. ā The City of Grand Island and Hall County Regional Planning Commission are warning residents, business owners and developers about a fraudulent e-mail scam currently circulating in the community.
The scam involves messages falsely claiming to be from the āCity Of Indianola Planning Commissionā while impersonating City of Grand Island officials and referencing fake subdivision application reviews and approval fees.
The fraudulent e-mail references a supposed application involving property near Locust Street and 6th Street Drive and includes detailed, professional-sounding language regarding zoning, subdivision regulations and Planning Commission review processes. The message instructs recipients to reply for āinvoice settlement instructions and wire transfer detailsā related to an attached application approval fee invoice.
This e-mail is a scam. The City of Grand Island will never request payments through unsolicited wire transfer instructions sent by e-mail, nor will legitimate Planning Commission or City departments require applicants to obtain payment instructions by replying to suspicious messages.
Residents, developers and businesses are encouraged to carefully review sender e-mail addresses before responding to any message requesting payment or financial information. Official City of Grand Island communications originate from verified City e-mail domains.
If you receive an email like this:
Do not respond
Do not click links or open attachments
Do not provide personal or financial information
Do not send payment
The City encourages anyone who receives one of these messages to report it as spam or phishing and contact local law enforcement if financial information was provided. Anyone unsure about the legitimacy of communication claiming to be from the City of Grand Island or the Hall County Regional Planning Commission is encouraged to contact City Hall directly at (308) 385-5444.
The City of Grand Island takes the protection of residents, businesses and development partners seriously and is continuing to monitor the situation.