Scam Continues of Individual Impersonating City Planning and Zoning Commission & Codes Office

The City of Cortland Codes Office says residents who have submitted applications to the City Zoning Board of Appeals and/or the City of Cortland Planning Commission, are still receiving fraudulent invoices. The invoices sent out are made to appear to be from the City of Cortland and request payment for services or listings the city did not authorize, charge for, or recognize.

Further investigation into the fake invoices found they were being created by using public information posted through the City of Cortland’s website on their Public Notice page. These notices where the information may be found are part of the legal requirements for public notices on the city website.

City of Cortland Code Enforcement Captain, Roy Everett, told X101 News, applicants to the ZBA or Planning Commission are still receiving the fraudulent invoices for as recently as the October 27th ZBA meeting. The Codes Office and Cortland Police alerted the public to the fraudulent invoices earlier this September. Cortland Police are actively investigating the fraudulent emails.

The invoice says it is from the City of Cortland and is sent by an email ending in “planning.cortland.org@usa.com.” Cortland Police say all city emails will come from an ending address of “@CortlandNY.gov.” The scam instructs the resident to pay the invoice through a wire transfer, a payment method the City of Cortland does not use.

Residents are reminded to never pay any invoices unless it comes directly from the City of Cortland with the city’s official letterhead and recognizable contact information. The City of Cortland added the city does not charge applicants for any third-party publication or registry services outside the standard application fees disclosed during the formal submission process.

Anyone who receives an invoice that is believed to be fraudulent, is asked to contact the Cortland Police Department by calling (607) 753-3001.