Johnston County Warns Public of Planning Board Email Scam


February 24, 2026

 

For Immediate Release:

 

Smithfield, N.C. - Johnston County Government is alerting residents to a scam. On Monday, an engineer working with a developer received a fraudulent email that falsely claimed to be from the Johnston County Planning Board. It included an attached invoice for what it called the “Application Review and Approval Fee” for a development project.

“We are pleased to inform you that staff have completed their technical evaluation of the proposed … single-family residential subdivision and have recommended approval based on the submitted materials,” the email read. The message appeared official, using the County's logo, including a County address, and even referencing a specific project location. 

The engineer suspected something was wrong because the County had already approved the subdivision a week earlier. Sensing a scam, he wisely reported the incident to Johnston County Government.

The scammer had written that “for auditing purposes, public record compliance, and agenda inclusion tracking, all correspondence associated with this case must be conducted via email.” That’s not how Johnston County does business. The Planning and Zoning Department will never require applicants to communicate only by email. The scammer's email address was also a clear red flag, as it came from a non-government email address ending in @usa.com, which is not an official Johnston County domain. Official County emails come only from the JohnstonNC.gov domain. 

In addition, the scammer requested payment by wire transfer — a method Johnston County does not require or use for development application fees. The County also does not require applicants to make payments via Paypal or Venmo. 

County officials confirm that this email is a scam. Johnston County encourages all residents and businesses to remain vigilant. Cybercriminals often target real estate transactions, development projects, and business operations because they involve large financial transactions, fast-paced processes, and readily available public data. Stay alert, exercise caution, and verify payment requests before sending funds. 

For an example of the scam email, please view the attachment in this press release. If you have any questions or think you may have received a scam email, please call Johnston County Planning and Zoning at 919-989-5150. 

 Scam Alert Image

SCAM ALERT: We've been made aware of individuals impersonating the Johnston County Planning Board. Please do not share personal or financial information. When in doubt, contact Planning and Zoning directly to verify.



Scam Avoidance Tips

Protect yourself from scammers:

  • Verify the sender's email domain (.gov addresses are official). 
  • Do not wire funds based on email instructions alone.
  • Independently confirm payment requests using official contact information.
  • Look for Red Flags like urgent tone, wire-only payment instructions, errors in grammar or spelling, and unfamiliar email addresses.
  • Report suspicious emails.



Sample Scam Email

 

Important to know:

  • Staff emails will always end with JohnstonNC.gov.
  • We will never request a payment via email and we will never send you a Paypal invoice.
  • Watch for grammatical errors and urgent tone within the email.