Floyd County School District scammed out of nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funds

ROME, Ga. – A phishing fraud has cost taxpayers in Floyd County hundreds of countless numbers of bucks. Floyd County School Board officers stated the district was the target of a cyberattack which is now under investigation by area and state law enforcement businesses.

School officers inadvertently wired virtually $200,000 to what they thought was a contractor they’d worked with previously and now they’re doing work with their insurance policy to try and recuperate the revenue.

“Phishing attacks are possibly one of the most popular kinds of cybersecurity attack. Typically, it is an e mail that comes in that is inquiring you for details,” cybersecurity specialist Kyle Koza claimed.

Koza claimed scammers use individuals email messages to pose as reputable contacts with the hopes of thieving personalized info or cash.

“The greater part of it is for cash. They’re making an attempt to steal income from you. In this case it was a ton of funds,” Koza mentioned.

An incident report from the Floyd County Police Section lists the Floyd County Faculty District as 1 of the most recent victims. The e-mail they been given arrived in the kind of a bogus invoice for $194,672.76.

“Shelling out bogus invoices is fairly infrequent in my encounter, but it does happen,” Koza mentioned.

According to that police report, faculty officers wired the cash in reaction to an invoice they believed was from a authentic business enterprise identified as Ben Hill Roofing. The business experienced concluded operate on Armuchee Superior College.

District officials paid the phony bill on April 29. They produced the discovery it was fraudulent a tiny above a thirty day period later. That was when the genuine Ben Hill Roofing despatched its bill on June 7.

“What probably occurred was they received an bill they did not recognize was from a spoofed electronic mail or an email that looked equivalent to the seller that they are operating with and then they went in advance and compensated the invoice not being aware of that it was falsified,” Koza defined.

A spokesperson for the Floyd County Board of Education and learning launched a assertion that reads in-part:

“We are doing work with area legislation enforcement, GEMA, GBI, and insurance policies officers to get well the money. Because of the cybersecurity actions FCS has put in area about the earlier handful of yrs, faculty technique officers think this is an isolated incident.”

The formal offense listed in the police report is theft by getting. The Floyd County Law enforcement Section claimed the investigation into the incident is ongoing. Koza explained a single of the greatest way to avoid slipping prey to a phishing scam is double-examining to see if it is someone who has had prior communications. If so, is it a unique email deal with than in advance of?