Applicants who have submitted proposals to the Gorham Planning Board have received bogus emails and invoices stating that approvals are conditional on making a wire transfer payment to the town of Gorham. This is a scam.

These emails are not from Thomas Poirier, director of Community Development, the department that includes the Gorham Planning Division. Recipients should not reply to the email address for instructions on how to make the bogus invoice payment.

Poirier said that anyone receiving an email of this nature should report it to the Town office. People who had proposals on the July 7 Planning Board agenda received emails sent before the Board meeting.

The scammers seem to have access to any public document posted online. Similar emails may be going to people who made applications to any Town of Gorham committee, board, or department.

Although Poirier did not send the emails, they are signed Thomas M. Poirier, Planning Board Director, which is not his correct title. The scammers included very detailed descriptions of the applications the recipients submitted to the Planning Board, and the email address could appear to be legitimate.
One detailed invoice was for $4,900. But the request for a wire transfer is an absolute giveaway that the invoice is bogus and a scam. “The Town of Gorham never asks for a wire transfer,” Poirier said.