CHARLOTTE — City leaders have issued a warning about a scam targeting rezoning applicants, involving emails that appear to be from the city’s Planning, Design & Development Department.
These fraudulent emails request funds using a fake invoice and instruct recipients to wire money to settle the invoice. The city emphasizes that these messages are not legitimate and should be disregarded.
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The city says legitimate rezoning applications and payments in Charlotte are processed through Accela, a trusted system used by the city’s land development section. Notifications for payment of fees will come directly from Accela, specifically from the email addresses.
The city provides two payment methods for rezoning applications: electronically via credit card or eCheck, or by check delivered or mailed to the CLT Development Center.
City officials have clarified that staff or city representatives will never request that funds be wired to an account. This is a key indicator that an email may be part of the scam.
Victims who have received the fraudulent email and made payments are urged to call 911 and 311 to file a report. As of now, no other scam attempts have been confirmed, but residents are encouraged to remain vigilant.
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