City of Coldwater issues scam warning

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A sophisticated email scam posing as the City of Coldwater has claimed a local victim, prompting City officials to renew an urgent warning to residents and businesses.

The City previously alerted the public to this planning and zoning wire transfer scam last month, but after learning this week of an actual local financial loss, officials wanted to reiterate how to spot and avoid it.

At first glance, the fraudulent email appears legitimate. It uses the City of Coldwater logo, the name of Planning and Zoning Administrator Robert Hawley, and even the recipient’s publicly available personal information, such as their phone number and address. However, closer inspection reveals several clear red flags.

Red flags within the email include:

• The “from” email address is not a Coldwater.org address and often appears as something like planning.cityname@usa.com.
• A request for a wire transfer. The City of Coldwater does NOT request wire transfers or email payments.
• The beneficiary’s name is listed as Robert Hawley, Coldwater. While flattering, Mr. Hawley is definitely not a beneficiary of City funds.
• The bank name and address are not local / out of state.
• Obvious mail merge errors, such as “email the items to [Our Email]” rather than an actual email address.
• Repeated use of the phrases “wire transfer” and “wire payment”.
• An invoice allegedly from the “City of Coldwater Planning Commission,” which does not send invoices.
• A due date listed as “Due Upon Receipt.” All legitimate invoices include a specific due date.
• Exorbitant fee amount. The maximum Special Land Use fee with the City of Coldwater is $500, which includes all application review, administrative, and public notification costs.
• Generic sign-offs such as “Best regards”.

Residents and businesses are urged to stay alert and carefully review any payment requests claiming to be from the City. If you are ever unsure whether an invoice or request is legitimate, contact the City of Coldwater at 517-279-9501 before taking any payment action.