High Point warns of phishing emails targeting permit applicants

High Point is warning property owners, businesses and permit applicants to stop and verify any message that demands immediate payment to keep a project moving. Officials said fraudulent emails are posing as the city’s Planning & Development Department and are especially dangerous because they can include real staff names, property addresses, zoning application numbers and case numbers, details that can look routine to anyone already juggling permits, inspections or contractor schedules.

The city said official planning messages should come from an address ending in highpointnc.gov, not a non-government domain. It also said the city does not ask for wire transfers by email and does not use outside email services to demand payment confirmation. Anyone who gets a suspicious message should confirm it directly through the department’s official contact channels instead of replying to the email. The Planning & Development office is at 211 S. Hamilton St., Room 316, High Point, and the staff directory lists 336-883-3328 as the office phone number.

The Development Services Center, also known as the Permit Center, is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accept permit, plan and related requests. High Point directs applicants to BuildHighPoint.com for permitting guidance and to thePoint for zoning and property information. Interim Planning & Development Director Michael Harvey is listed in the department’s staff directory. City officials said those tools matter because scammers are targeting people who already have active land-use applications and are under pressure to keep projects on track.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the scheme is part of a nationwide phishing campaign aimed at individuals and businesses with active planning and zoning permits. The FBI said the emails can use professional-looking formatting, imagery and legal or regulatory language, and may push victims to pay by wire transfer, peer-to-peer payment or cryptocurrency. Some of the fraudulent messages have come from non-government domains, including addresses resembling @usa.com. The bureau urged people not to trust polished formatting, seals or letterhead if the sender’s address is not an official government account.

High Point has warned about a similar scam before. On Nov. 17, 2025, the city alerted residents after people falsely claimed to represent the city and demanded payment for inspections. Officials said then that inspectors never request or accept payment directly from business owners or tenants. That earlier warning, paired with the new phishing alert, shows a steady pattern of municipal impersonation fraud aimed at people trying to build, remodel or move a project forward.