The Salem Lakes village government is warning residents about an email scam that purports to be from a village employee.
Village administrator Cassandra Hiller told westofthei.com that the scam was brought to the village’s attention by a local business that received the scam email.
The email appears to be a phishing scheme intended to extract sensitive information from individuals that could be used for fraudulent purposes.
The scam email came from Village of Salem Lakes Board of Trustees villageofsalemlakes.org@usa.com. All legitimate village emails end in @voslwi.gov. If a resident or business owner receive anything from the village that does not come from an email ending in @voslwi.gov, it should be the first red flag that this doesn’t feel correct, Hiller advised.
The scam email request asked for a wire transfer of funds. The village does allow online payments, but does not ask for wire transfers of funds, Hiller said.
Another red flag was the payment instructions state it was issued by the Village of Salem Lakes Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees do not issue invoices.
If any resident or business owner receives an invoice that feels or looks suspicious, please either visit Village Hall in person or contact the Village of Salem Lakes at 262-843-2313 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for verification before payment, Hiller said,