Scammers Create Fake Philly Water Bill Payment Website, Authorities Warn

PHILADELPHIA — Authorities in Philadelphia are warning residents of a scam involving a faked Philadelphia Water Department website.

The Philadelphia Department of Revenue said a fraudulent website is imitating the city’s official water bill payment site.

Scammers have created a fake website, "myphillywaterbill.com." This bogus site is designed to deceive people into providing their payment information.

While the legitimate website for paying water bills is named MyPhillyWaterBill and has optimized search-engine branding, the official hyperlink does not share this name, officials said.

"Domain spoofing," or "URL spoofing" is a tactic scammers use to trick users into providing personal information or downloading malware, according to authorities.

In this case, scammers created a fake website with a domain name similar to the legitimate branding, despite the city website typically using ".gov” or ".org" extensions. This can trick users into believing they are engaging with the genuine website.

The Department of Revenue assures Philadelphia’s water customers that online payments remain a secure and efficient method for making payments.

Customers are encouraged to visit this website or go online here for direct access to the city’s secure payment portal.

To pay online, customers will need their nine-digit Water Access Code, which can be found on their bill. Payments made using eCheck are always free of charges, while payments made by credit and debit card will incur standard processing fees.

Officials urged customers to always be skeptical of unsolicited requests for personal or financial information, report any suspicious activity to the appropriate agencies, and verify information through official channels and websites.

Anyone who believes they have shared personal or financial information should report it to the FBI by calling 215-418-4000 or going online here. Reports can also be made to the Federal Internet Crime Complaint Center online here.