Louth County Council scam emails falsely seeking planning-related payments are circulating, with the local authority urging applicants, agents and developers to check unexpected correspondence carefully.
The fraudulent emails claim to come from local authority planning departments and seek payment for planning fees or development contributions.
Louth County Council has warned members of the public, planning applicants, agents, architects, engineers and developers to be particularly cautious if they receive an unexpected payment request.
The Council says all genuine email correspondence from Louth County Council will come from an @louthcoco.ie email address.
It has also stressed that Council staff will never ask someone to obtain payment instructions simply by replying to an email.
Check the sender before taking action
People who receive unexpected planning correspondence are being advised to inspect the sender’s email address carefully.
Fraudulent addresses can be designed to closely resemble legitimate Council addresses, making them easy to mistake for genuine correspondence at first glance.
Anyone receiving a suspicious email should not:
- click on links
- open attachments
- provide personal information
- provide banking details
- make a payment
The Council’s warning, published on 20th August, specifically relates to fraudulent emails seeking planning fees and development contributions.
Verify suspicious planning emails directly
Anyone unsure whether correspondence is genuine should contact Louth County Council’s Planning Department directly on 042 933 5457 before taking any action.
That is also the contact number listed by the Council for its Planning Department.
People who receive suspicious correspondence are also being encouraged to report it to An Garda Síochána or Louth County Council.
The warning comes as more Council services and transactions are available online. Drogheda Life recently reported on the launch of Louth County Council’s Customer Hub, which allows members of the public to access services, make payments and submit requests through a central online account.
Anyone dealing with an unexpected email claiming to come from the Council should therefore verify the communication independently rather than using contact details or payment instructions contained in the suspicious message itself.
