Boulder County, Colo. - Reports are increasing of localized scams spreading across the front range of Colorado. In Boulder County, one such email scam is targeting homeowners, builders and contractors who work closely with the Community Planning & Permitting department.

The scams starts with an email being sent to any builder or contractor who has utilized the licensure and permitting process through Boulder County. In one known attempted scam the scammer will ask for a response from an email sent to the builder or contractor with an eye-catching subject like “Reminder – Code Violation Notice”. Once the builder or contractor responds to the email the scammer will reply with urgency and send an embedded Microsoft SharePoint link titled “Review Document”. The scammer will not provide any specific information about the situation and urge the builder or contractor to click the link. If the link is opened, it may install malware and steal sensitive data like financial information, disrupt operating systems, and possibly take complete control of affected devices.

In a similar scam attempt the scammer will send an email with a subject similar to “Settlement Of Invoice For Application Review & Approval Fee - For (Variance Request for Detached Studio Construction).” The scammer will have incorporated public data and make a claim they are collecting a fee that is owed. The email utilizes the data and gives specific details related to the projects so could easily be confused with an official email.

The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office – Community Protection and the Boulder County Cybersecurity Program actively responds and strives to protect and inform everyone in Boulder County, including local businesses, of potential scams. Please be cautious when checking text messages and emails that claim to be from the government. To prevent becoming a victim of an email scam:

• Check the email address. All Boulder County employees and volunteers have an email address which includes “bouldercounty.gov” or “bouldercounty.org”.
• Suspicious links. As a precaution, it is urged to never immediately click on links embedded in an email until you are certain it comes from a genuine source.
• Ask the sender questions. If an email is being sent by a Boulder County employee, there will be a purpose to that email which the employee can share information about. If the sender of the email does not provide details this may be a red flag that the email is a scam.
• Strange sentence structure. When reading an email, check for mistakes, grammar errors, or strange wording. This may be a red flag that the email is a scam.
• Urgent language. Scammers often create a sense of urgency to prompt quick action without thinking, such as "Your account will be suspended" or "Code Enforcement Violation."
• Requests of information. Boulder County government will never ask builders or contractors password for the online permitting and planning system.

If you are unsure that a text message, email, letter, or phone call from Boulder County is a scam, you can contact the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office – Community Protection Division at 303-441-3700 or email dacpd@bouldercounty.gov.