Laramie warns of phishing emails posing as permit invoice notices

Local contractors, property owners and small businesses in Laramie are being warned about phishing emails that pretend to come from the city’s Community and Economic Development Department and ask recipients to pay planning and permitting invoices.

The city said fraudulent messages were circulating in community inboxes on or before April 29, and that the scam is especially dangerous for people already expecting paperwork tied to development, inspections or fee payments. Legitimate digital invoices come only from the city’s official online permitting software, using the no-reply address donotreply@cityoflaramie.org, and real messages send users back into the city’s secure permitting website to finish a transaction. That portal runs on Tyler Technologies’ EnerGov self-service system.

The warning lands in a department that handles a wide range of development work. The Community and Economic Development Department includes Planning, Code Administration, Code Enforcement and Environmental Health. Planning staff review subdivision and zoning applications, planned unit developments, conditional use permits, variances and zone changes. Code Administration also oversees building permits, which the city says are tied to safety standards, zoning regulations and building codes. General contractors working in Laramie are required to be licensed, adding another layer of paperwork that a fake invoice could exploit.

City officials said any email about a permit, plan review or invoice should be treated as suspicious if it does not come from the city’s official system. Residents and businesses should avoid clicking links, avoid sharing personal or financial information, and verify payment requests through the city’s secure permitting portal or by contacting City Hall directly. The city lists its main office at 406 Ivinson Avenue in Laramie and its main phone number as 307-721-5200.

If someone already clicked a link or entered payment information, the immediate risk is financial. The safest response is to stop interacting with the message, check the account through the official city portal, contact the bank or card issuer if money or card details were submitted, and use the city’s public contact information to confirm whether any invoice is real before paying again. In a city where permit notices are routine, the warning is a reminder that one convincing fake can send contractors, residents and business owners down the wrong payment path fast.