Lethbridge County officials say a sophisticated effort has resulted in the loss of $30,000 to fraud. The county says the money was lost when vendor payments were intercepted by an unauthorized party.
The finance department launched an investigation to learn the extent of the security breach and was not able to recover the money.
“The county is committed to transparency and integrity in all our operations,” says Cole Beck, CAO. “We recognize that incidents such as these may cause uneasiness, but we want to assure our ratepayers and business partners that their financial information remains secure. This incident was a sophisticated effort to exploit accounts payable and there has been no data breach or release of any financial information.”
The county is working with its insurance provider to determine next steps and looking at ways to prevent future fraud attempts.
“As fraudulent activity such as this becomes more advanced, the county remains vigilant in protecting our finances,” says Beck. “We are constantly strategizing and implementing fraud protection measures to ensure the security of our financial systems.”