Newport warns of scam emails targeting city applications

NEWPORT, R.I. — The City of Newport is warning residents and business owners about a scam involving fraudulent emails that appear to come from the city’s planning commission.

Officials said the messages target individuals and businesses with active applications before the Newport Planning Commission.

According to the city, the emails reference legitimate applications but include fake invoices requesting payment by wire transfer for permit reviews or other application related fees.

City says it does not request wire transfer payments

City officials emphasized that Newport would never request permit or application fees through a wire transfer and would not ask applicants to send payments outside of official city payment systems.

Anyone who receives such a request should treat it as suspicious.

Warning signs of the scam

The city outlined several red flags that may indicate the message is fraudulent:

• Invoices that appear to come from the City of Newport Planning Commission
• Requests to send payment using a wire transfer
• Instructions to reply by email to obtain payment details
• Email addresses that are not clearly connected to the city such as @cityofnewport.com or @newportri.gov
• Messages sent from generic email services such as Gmail or USA.com

Who to contact

Officials are asking anyone who believes they may have received a scam message to report it.

Residents and business owners can contact the City of Newport IT Department at 401-845-5400 or the Newport Police Department at 401-847-1306.

City officials said reporting suspicious emails can help investigators track the scam and prevent others from becoming victims.