Sandpoint warns of invoice scam attempt

SANDPOINT — A scam that popped onto the city's radar a few months ago has resurfaced and becoming more widespread, Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said in a Friday press release.

In the latest instance, Grimm said a local developer contacted the city after receiving an email — purporting to be from Sandpoint officials — seeking payment of fees related to a development application.

"Fortunately, the city is not aware of any funds being lost to this scam to date," Grimm said in the press release. "However, residents, businesses, and applicants are urged to remain vigilant and exercise caution when receiving unsolicited communications requesting payment or sensitive information."

Grimm said the city will never request payment via wire transfer, adding that any email message directing individuals to remit payments by wire transfer or requesting sensitive financial information should be treated as suspicious.

“These types of scams are increasingly prevalent, and the messages can appear entirely legitimate," Grimm said. "They often convey a sense of urgency that could prompt even the most cautious among us to act."

Grimm said city officials encouraged residents and anyone doing business with the city to carefully review the sender’s email address, scrutinize any message requesting payment or sensitive information.

"If there is any doubt, contact the city directly or call the individual who supposedly sent the message to verify its authenticity," the Sandpoint mayor said.

The attempt is the latest scam or attempted scam targeting municipalities in the Inland Northwest. In mid-February, Newport was scammed out of $330,000, with officials saying a sophisticated web-based scheme led to the transfer to what staff thought was a legitimate vendor. Instead, the account turned out to be fraudulent. 

After realizing what had happened, Newport officials alerted local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and launched an immediate investigation into the incident. Liberty Lake Police have been tasked with leading the investigation.

City officials said there is no evidence that residents’ personal information was compromised, adding the scheme appears to be limited to municipal financial transactions.

Newport is the latest city to be hit by online scammers, with Clark Fork losing more than $480,000 in November 2023 after the city mistakenly transferred funds to a scammer impersonating a construction contractor’s manager.

The fraud occurred when Clark Fork officials paid a bill for excavation work associated with improvements to the city’s drinking water infrastructure. The city soon discovered it had mistakenly transferred funds to a scammer impersonating the excavation firm’s manager. Ultimately, Clark Fork was able to recover about $192,937.22 of the total $483,519.12 that had been misdirected to a threat actor.

The Clark Fork incident remains under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.