The City and Borough of Sitka is out over $60,000 after a cyber scammer intercepted a payment intended for a contractor.
Last fall, a city contractor was targeted in a cyber attack. According to a press release issued today by the city, the scammer submitted a request for the city to change the contractor’s banking information. The request appeared legitimate, so CBS staff approved the change, and submitted a $62,795 payment to the account. Once the incident was discovered, the city informed the bank and made efforts to recover the funds, but so far only $4000 has been retrieved.
In an email, Government Relations Director Melissa Wileman told KCAW that, after consultation with the city’s attorney and assembly, staff decided against filing an insurance claim to avoid jeopardizing its deductible. The contractor has since been paid for their services.
In response to the attack, the city will add new security protocols to reduce its vulnerability to future cyber attacks. According to the release, payment to vendors will likely become more complicated in the future as a result of the additional steps.
Sitka wasn’t the only Southeast city that fell victim to the same scam. Earlier this month, $625,000 was stolen from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough after funds for the contractor that recently completed turfing for Dudley Field were wired to a fake vendor account instead.
