MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — Mitchell city officials are warning residents of scams where fraudsters are attempting to pose as the Planning and Zoning Department.
The fake invoices can only be paid by wire transfer, which is one of the few forms of payment the city does not accept. Another tell is the email address. All communication from municipal staff will end with an address of @cityofmitchellsd.gov. In an example posted online to the city’s website, there is a scammer using a private address that ends with @usa.com.
A second email was shown demanding urgent payment of a fee to get a special event permit approved. It also uses a usa.com address. The city says that if a resident is concerned about whether an email is authentic, they can always reach out to staff to verify if it legitimate.
More information on the scams is available here.