The City of Mountain View is alerting individuals involved in planning, building, and development of a phishing scam.

The cybercriminals are targeting planning project applicants, requesting a wire transfer for a planning project. The suspicious emails originate from the email address, community.development-mountainview.gov@usa.com, which is not affiliated with the City of Mountain View. Phishing emails, from suspicious email addresses like this one, are designed to appear as official City communications and can come from other email domains.

The City does not request wire transfers for payment of fees. If you receive an email from the City requesting money or a wire transfer, please contact the City directly. The City Directory is available on the MountainView.gov website.

Here are a few tips for spotting a fraudulent email:

• Requests payment via wire transfer, payment apps, or cryptocurrency
• Creates urgency by threatening delays to your permit if you do not pay immediately
• Directs you to respond by email only

The City urges all residents and business owners to exercise caution and confirm the legitimacy of any unexpected payment requests with City staff using official contact information.

View this release in Spanish and Chinese.