Chatham County officials warned residents on June 8, 2026, about fraudulent emails aimed at people who had already dealt with the county Planning Department. The messages asked recipients to send bank transfers for supposed permit application fees, turning routine planning paperwork into a scam opportunity.

The warning mattered because the targets were not random. They were customers who had submitted rezoning and major subdivision applications, people whose contact with county planners made the fake fee request look more believable.

Authorities said the emails were sent by people posing as employees, not legitimate staff members. That detail matters because it gives the messages a thin layer of credibility and makes the fraud harder to spot for someone expecting follow-up on a land-use application.

For anyone asking what is a phishing scam, this is the basic playbook: a sender imitates a trusted institution, then pushes the victim toward paying money or sharing information before the ruse can be checked. In this case, the county said victims who received the emails should contact the Chatham County Sheriff's Office to file a report, while more information about the scam and the Planning Department is available at chathamcountync.gov.

The open question is how far the emails spread and whether anyone sent money before the warning went out. But the county's message was clear: anyone with a rezoning or major subdivision application should treat any unexpected fee request with caution and verify it through official county channels before transferring funds.