Lewis County is alerting residents and businesses about a recent fraud attempt involving a convincing email with an attached invoice that impersonated a county office and requested payment to continue an approval process.
In the reported instance, the message claimed to come from a county department but was sent from a non-government email address. The email instructed the recipient to reply for wire transfer instructions and to communicate “exclusively via email.” The attached invoice included a copy of the Lewis County logo and reinforced the same approach, stating that wire transfer instructions would be provided upon request and that all correspondence “must be conducted via email.”
Lewis County wants the public to know that scammers often use realistic formatting, official- sounding language, and pressure tactics to convince people to pay quickly.
Residents and businesses should be cautious of payment requests that include one or more of the following:
• Unexpected invoices or fees tied to approvals, permits, applications or “final processing,” especially if residents were not expecting a bill.
• Requests for wire transfers, particularly when instructions are only provided after replying to an email and no other payment options are offered.
• Email-only communications that discourage calling or visiting an office to verify legitimacy.
• Pressure and urgency, including warnings that matters may be delayed or suspended if not paid promptly.
Lewis County encourages the public to take these steps before making any payment or financial change:
• Pause before paying. Scammers often rely on urgency, fear or excitement to prompt immediate action.
• Verify using trusted contact information. Do not use phone numbers, links or addresses provided in a suspicious message. Instead, look up the department’s contact information using official sources, such as the county’s website, and call directly to confirm whether the invoice is legitimate.
• Be cautious of sender domains. Lewis County departments communicate using official county channels (for example, @lewiscountywa.gov). Messages from a different email domain claiming to represent the county should be treated as suspicious and verified independently.
• Do not provide payment confirmation or sensitive information by replying to unexpected emails.
• Log into official payment portals where available to verify whether any fees are owed.
If residents received a fraudulent email or invoice claiming to be from Lewis County, they should not pay, click links or open additional attachments beyond what is necessary to report the incident. Then, they should report it to Lewis County at https://lewiscountywa.gov/fraud-report.
Residents that have already paid money should contact their bank or payment provider immediately to request a recall or fraud investigation, and report the incident to law enforcement.
For verified Lewis County department contact information and office locations, visit https://lewiscountywa.gov.
