Real agenda, fake invoice: Alpharetta briefing warns of a permit-payment scam

A real public agenda can help sell a fake city bill. In a cybersecurity presentation prepared for Alpharetta’s Nov. 5 Planning Commission meeting, the city’s IT department warns that criminals study board and commission agendas, impersonate city employees and send businesses bogus invoices for licenses, permits and other fees.⁠[1]

The presentation reproduces a March 9, 2026, FBI alert explaining the trick: criminals use publicly available permit information to identify targets and make fraudulent payment requests look legitimate. That alert describes a nationwide scheme—not one confined to Alpharetta.⁠[1]

The city’s slide says businesses have been tricked into paying, but it does not identify them, quantify their losses or specify whether any victims were in Alpharetta. It also says the fraudulent emails do not pass through the city’s systems, putting those messages outside its control.⁠[1]

For businesses targeted by the scheme, the presentation directs reports to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.⁠[1]

For board members themselves, the briefing reinforces a separate defense: use city-provided email—not personal accounts—for city business. It describes IT Policy 2.3 as requiring monthly cybersecurity awareness training and random email phishing exercises, including for board and commission members.⁠[1]