Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Buncombe County staff are warning residents and developers about an email scam targeting planning and zoning applications.
Rob Morris is getting ready to build on the 600-acre Christmount Christian Assembly in Black Mountain. The campus is used for camping, retreats and conferences.
Morris, the executive director of Christmount, says he's been in regular contact with Buncombe County as they work to develop what will be the campus's latest addition, a residential lodge for campers with special needs.
In July, Morris received an email that appeared to come from Buncombe County.
"When I got this email, it was just like any other email," said Morris. "And they had the billing information correct. They had my name, the organization name, our address."
"So, it all sounds, you know, legit," Morris said.
But it wasn't.
It was a scam attempt meant to impersonate government.
The email requested a $13,050 payment for a building permit.
But whoever sent it slipped up.
"If it hadn't been for the wording about the information about the school in there, we wouldn't have checked it out and probably would have gone to the next step with this," said Morris.
Morris wasn’t the only person to receive a scam email like this; in fact, this scam doesn’t just affect Buncombe County. County officials say it’s a nationwide trend.
"The applicant typically receives an email and they're being requested to wire money. This is fraudulent because they've already paid their legitimate application fee at the time the application is submitted," said Buncombe County Planning Director Nathan Pennington.
Pennington says scammers are scraping publicly available data and putting together emails that appear like they're from the county.
"Buncombe County would never ask for money to be wired as part of an application," said Pennington.
He says unfortunately, there have been victims.
According to the Better Business Bureau, 44% of Americans have encountered a government impostor scam.
"Glad we checked it out; glad we didn't pay it. So, we're pretty relieved that we didn't get any further than we did with this," said Morris.
Morris says they've now secured the permit and now they're keeping a closer watch on any documents they receive.
According to a Buncombe County alert, an official county email will use the BuncombeNC.gov domain, not an Outlook.com domain.
You can contact Buncombe County Planning and Development directly to confirm whether a request is legitimate. Email planninginfo@buncombenc.gov for questions and concerns.
#emailscam #scammer #localgovernment
MORE: wlos.com/news/local/scam-email-buncombe-county-government-impersonation-developer-13k-permit-impersonation-building-wire-fraud-planning-zoning-christmount-better-business-bureau
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WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information contact us at contentsales@sbgtv.com
Buncombe County staff are warning residents and developers about an email scam targeting planning and zoning applications.
Rob Morris is getting ready to build on the 600-acre Christmount Christian Assembly in Black Mountain. The campus is used for camping, retreats and conferences.
Morris, the executive director of Christmount, says he's been in regular contact with Buncombe County as they work to develop what will be the campus's latest addition, a residential lodge for campers with special needs.
In July, Morris received an email that appeared to come from Buncombe County.
"When I got this email, it was just like any other email," said Morris. "And they had the billing information correct. They had my name, the organization name, our address."
"So, it all sounds, you know, legit," Morris said.
But it wasn't.
It was a scam attempt meant to impersonate government.
The email requested a $13,050 payment for a building permit.
But whoever sent it slipped up.
"If it hadn't been for the wording about the information about the school in there, we wouldn't have checked it out and probably would have gone to the next step with this," said Morris.
Morris wasn’t the only person to receive a scam email like this; in fact, this scam doesn’t just affect Buncombe County. County officials say it’s a nationwide trend.
"The applicant typically receives an email and they're being requested to wire money. This is fraudulent because they've already paid their legitimate application fee at the time the application is submitted," said Buncombe County Planning Director Nathan Pennington.
Pennington says scammers are scraping publicly available data and putting together emails that appear like they're from the county.
"Buncombe County would never ask for money to be wired as part of an application," said Pennington.
He says unfortunately, there have been victims.
According to the Better Business Bureau, 44% of Americans have encountered a government impostor scam.
"Glad we checked it out; glad we didn't pay it. So, we're pretty relieved that we didn't get any further than we did with this," said Morris.
Morris says they've now secured the permit and now they're keeping a closer watch on any documents they receive.
According to a Buncombe County alert, an official county email will use the BuncombeNC.gov domain, not an Outlook.com domain.
You can contact Buncombe County Planning and Development directly to confirm whether a request is legitimate. Email planninginfo@buncombenc.gov for questions and concerns.
#emailscam #scammer #localgovernment
MORE: wlos.com/news/local/scam-email-buncombe-county-government-impersonation-developer-13k-permit-impersonation-building-wire-fraud-planning-zoning-christmount-better-business-bureau
_______________
Follow WLOS on social media:
WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: facebook.com/News13
WLOS ABC 13 News on X: https://x.com/WLOS_13
WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: instagram.com/wlos_13
Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: youtube.com/user/ABC13Channel/?sub_confirmation=1
For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit wlos.com
Stream our newscasts LIVE: wlos.com/watch
Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: news@wlos.com
Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340
--
WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information contact us at contentsales@sbgtv.com
