Humboldt County warns residents about fake planning office scam

Humboldt County permit applicants were warned again after the Planning & Building Department received new reports of fake emails that claimed to come from Director John Ford or the Humboldt County Planning Commission. Some versions identify as a current or former employee and try to push recipients to send money or personal information before a permit can move ahead.

Earlier county notices documented several fraudulent emails targeting Humboldt County planning applicants, and another wave of scam messages had landed in the community. Public permit records gave scammers enough detail to mimic a real county transaction.

The emails have been aimed at people with active permit applications, a group that includes homeowners, contractors, businesses, and property owners who expect to hear from planning staff about fees, project review, zoning questions, maps, or land-use documents. Some versions demanded a processing fee be wired, while another social post demanded that an application review and approval fee had to be paid before a permit could move forward.

The Humboldt County Planning & Building Department is at 3015 H St in Eureka and offers in-person counter service Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Residents and businesses can check whether a message is real in person instead of replying to the email itself. The warning has circulated through the county website and sheriff-related information pages.

The red flags in these cases are specific: an email that claims to come from John Ford or the Planning Commission, a request to wire money, a fee demanded before a permit can proceed, and language that sounds like an urgent county notice but does not come through an official channel.