Scammers are piggybacking on Ladue’s building boom, according to city officials, who say fraudsters are firing off fake invoices to people with active building or development permits and trying to convince them to wire money to bogus accounts.
The city’s message to residents and contractors is blunt: Ladue does not take permit-fee payments by wire transfer, so if an invoice tells you to wire cash, it is not from City Hall. Applicants are being urged to double-check every bill before paying and to alert staff immediately if something looks off. The warning comes as similar permit-related phishing schemes are popping up across the country.
City Advisory: No Wires, No Exceptions
In a post on its official Facebook page, the City of Ladue spelled it out clearly: it “does not request permit fee payments by wire transfer,” and fraudulent invoices are being sent to permit applicants, according to City of Ladue on Facebook. The post urges anyone who receives a surprise invoice to contact city staff directly and confirm the bill with the Building Department before sending a cent.
Why the Feds Are Watching This Scam
The local alert tracks closely with a public service announcement from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, which says criminals are “leveraging publicly available permit information” to craft convincing bogus invoices and then push victims to pay by wire transfer, peer-to-peer payment apps, or cryptocurrency, according to the FBI's IC3. Federal officials say to watch for red flags like sudden pressure to pay, emails coming from non-government addresses, and instructions to communicate only by email.
The FBI guidance advises applicants to slow down and verify any payment request by calling the municipal office using contact information listed on the city’s official website, not whatever number appears on a suspicious invoice.
How to Double-Check a Bill in Ladue
If an invoice shows up that you were not expecting, the city’s advice is simple: do not pay it and do not click on any links. Instead, call the Building Department at 314-997-6308 or log in to your account through the city’s online permit portal, per the city’s permitting guidance. The permits page explains that permit fees move through official channels and that applicants will hear directly from staff when payments are due; the City of Ladue new-business packet also lists the Building Department phone number and the city address.
For more details on the permitting process and contact information, see the City of Ladue Building Department.
If You Were Targeted or Already Paid
If you were asked to wire money or think you may have already sent funds to scammers, officials recommend contacting your bank immediately, notifying local law enforcement, and filing a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, as outlined in the federal advisory. City staff also want residents to hang on to copies of suspicious invoices and email headers, since those details can help investigators track who is behind the scheme.
Because municipal permit records are often public, scammers can make their paperwork look surprisingly official by recycling real addresses and case numbers. The standing advice from Ladue: if there is any doubt at all, hit pause and call the Building Department before sending money to confirm that an invoice is the real thing.
