Photo: Christian Wiediger on Unsplash.com

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - September 26, 2025

Cook County officials have issued a warning regarding a reported impersonation scam targeting individuals who have applied to or contacted the Cook County Land Services department. According to a September 26 press release from Cook County Land Services and MIS, reports from multiple citizens indicate that scammers are impersonating Land Services staff via email and requesting payment. 

Within the email sent to applicants, someone falsely claiming to be from Land Services has allegedly requested a fee of $7,000 for a variance and demanded that the funds be sent via wire transfer. 

Cook County Land Services stated that it does not contact citizens by email to request payment via wire transfer. Instead, department officials recommend utilizing county payment channels only, such as the E-Permitting system.

According to Cook County MIS Director Rowan Watkins, county officials believe scammers are getting the information about who has contacted or applied with Land Services from "publicly available agenda packets that include unredacted application information."

Cook County is not the only area within the state to be receiving these types of scam emails. Others have been reported, including in Pope County and the city of Breezy Point.

To help distinguish legitimate communication from fraudulent messages, county officials suggest verifying the sender's email address. They added that the scammers are "sophisticated" and that the emails may "appear official." 

"Look for the correct email domain, i.e., first name dot last name @co.cook.mn.us. The scammers used [email protected], which is close, but the @usa.com is a red flag that folks should be aware of," according to the press release. 

If there are any questions regarding a request for payment or the legitimacy of a communication, community members are encouraged to call the Land Services department at 218-387-3630.