Planning and Zoning department reports phishing scams, what to do - Midland Reporter-Telegram

The Planning and Zoning Commission talking with an applicant at their April 6, 2026 meeting. Joshua Sparks can be seen third from left in the green shirt. Luke Dias/Midland Reporter-Telegram Midland’s Planning and Zoning Department recently became the target of a phishing scam aimed at city planning committees across the nation. “A group is getting ahold of email addresses and sending out invoices or other ways to pay,” said Elizabeth Triggs, the planning and development officer for the city. “(They’re) representing themselves (as) the city of Midland to applicants for different planning applications, like zoning applications and those kinds of things.” ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad As previously reported, Planning and Zoning Commission cases begin with requests from residents seeking land-use changes, typically including zoning changes, platting lots and specific-use designations that allow businesses requiring permits, such as those selling alcohol, to operate on the land. These start with pre-development meetings, where applicants meet with city staff to discuss site plans, safety measures, building details, utilities and transportation. City staff became aware of the problem several weeks ago and reported it to P&Z during one of the commission’s meetings. As a result, according to city Planning Manager Landon Ochoa, the department took measures such as hiding certain personal information in city documents to prevent the scams from happening again. Triggs expanded on this by saying, “We’ve let all of our applicants know when we communicate with them. When we receive an application, our first communication with them is first (to) let them know to be aware of this issue that’s ongoing (and) to also look for things that could key you in to this being phishing.” To identify a phishing scam, check the sender’s email address to ensure the domain matches midlandtexas.gov, or if the email asks for certain personal information such as your credit card information or Social Security number. Applicants with questions should contact their case manager or the city’s planning division to verify whether an email is valid. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad