News

Saugatuck Township officials were recently alerted by two community members who reported receiving emailed invoices claiming to be from Saugatuck Township’s Planning Department and requesting payment via wire transfer. Scammers are using publicly-available information to make these invoices appear legitimate, but they are fraudulent.

Saugatuck Township does not accept wire transfers for any payments.

The Township is encouraging residents and businesses to carefully verify invoices before making payments. Steps they can take include:

• Verify the sender’s email. All legitimate Saugatuck Township emails from an address ending in @saugatucktownshipmi.gov.
• Check your records. If you did not request a service, permit or product from the Township, take cautious action.
• Examine the invoice carefully. Typos, inconsistent formatting, generic language and grainy/blurry logos are all signs that it may be fake.
• Confirm directly with the Township. If you are unsure if something is valid, please call the Township offices at (269) 857-7721.
• Avoid clicking on attachments or links. These may contain harmful software or lead to fraudulent websites.

Saugatuck Township has taken the following steps in response to this report:

• Filed a police report with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office;
• Submitted a complaint to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office;
• Reported the incident to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a national-level monitoring of cyber fraud;
• Contacted the domain host associated with the fraudulent email address and received confirmation that the email account has been blocked and disabled.

If you receive a suspicious invoice, email or payment request claiming to be from Saugatuck Township, please report it to (269) 857-7721.