Politics & Government

$3M Phishing Attempt Blocked By Washington County Officials

No money was lost due in the attempted scam, which the Washington County Sheriff's Office and FBI are investigating, according to a report.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — Washington County officials said Tuesday that they stopped a person posing as a vendor from putting more than $3 million in county funds into an unauthorized account, the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reports.

County Administrator Keven Corbid detailed the attempted phishing scam for the Washington County Board of Commissioners during its meeting Tuesday.

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Corbid said county officials were first alerted to the suspicious transaction in mid-August and worked with the county’s bank to stop the transaction before the money was moved into the fraudulent account, the report states.

No money was lost due to the phishing attempt, which the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are still investigating, according to the report.

Find out what's happening in Stillwaterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

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Washington County is implementing new technology and tools to identify and block phishing attempts, as well as hiring and training its staff to detect and monitor threats, county officials said in a news release.

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