Local authorities across Ireland have been made aware of fraudulent emails circulating which purport to originate from Local Authority Planning Departments and which seek payment of planning-related fees or development contributions. Monaghan County Council is advising members of the public, applicants, planning agents, architects, engineers and developers to exercise caution and remain vigilant when receiving unsolicited emails relating to planning applications or payment requests.
Monaghan County Council will only issue correspondence from an official @monaghancoco.ie email address. The council will never request payment of planning fees or development contributions through unsolicited email correspondence or ask recipients to obtain payment instructions by replying to an email.
If you receive an email that you believe may be fraudulent:
- Do not click on any links or attachments.
- Do not provide personal or financial information.
- Do not make any payment.
- Inspect the senders email address carefully to check it has been sent from a legitimate @monaghancoco.ie email address. Fraudulent email addresses are designed to closely resemble genuine local authority addresses and may look authentic at first glance.
- If in doubt contact the Planning Department directly using the contact details available on the official Council website.
We encourage all planning applicants, agents and stakeholders to remain alert and vigilant and report suspicious correspondence.