Kent issues email scam alert

KENT — Town officials are warning residents to be on alert after a second fraudulent email impersonating the Land Use Office was reported in less than three weeks.

The town clerk announced on Nov. 26 that another false message has been sent to residents in recent days, this time attempting to collect payment for an “Application Review and Approval Fee” tied to a supposed special permit application. No such fee or permit exists, according to Town Hall.

A similar scam email was reported on Nov. 10, prompting officials to notify the public that any messages requesting payments or personal information should be treated with caution. Residents who receive a suspicious email are urged not to respond.

Anyone who receives an email from the bogus address planning-dept.townofkentct@usa.com is urged to contact the Land Use Office at landuseadmin@townofkentct.gov or call 860-927-4625 to alert Town Hall. The clerk emphasized that recipients should not respond to the message in any way — including clicking an “unsubscribe” link — as doing so may confirm their address to scammers.

Officials note that Kent uses a federally verified “.gov” domain for all official communication. Any message claiming to be from Town Hall that does not come from a .gov address should be considered fraudulent.