Entities posing as Wilton town officials have targeted land use permit applicants with fraudulent emails and invoices requesting wire transfers, according to Town Administrator Nick Germain.
Germain said the town’s computer network has not been compromised, and no recipients have fallen victim to the scam.
“Our cyber security team said someone has been using AI to scrape online permit records for contact information,” he said.
The messages appear legitimate, using the town’s correct address and official-looking formatting. However, some originate from “.usa” email domains, while legitimate town communications use “.gov,” Germain said.
Germain said that at an informal meeting of town administrators last week, he did not learn of any incidents in other towns.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the March 28 meeting during which Germain asked other town administrators if they had experienced similar issues.