State officials recover money stolen this week in wire fraud scam
RALEIGH – State officials have successfully recovered $35,000 stolen earlier this week when a financial employee at the N.C. Global TransPark fell victim to a wire fraud scam.
Officials with the State Bureau of Investigation, the N.C. Department of Transportation and N.C. Department of Information Technology recovered the stolen money and it was put back into a state bank account late Thursday.
“The Department of Transportation is constantly working to safeguard taxpayer dollars and work against scam artists,” said David Howard, chief deputy secretary for the N.C. Department of Transportation. “We appreciate the quick action of the SBI and our other state partners to recover these funds.”
The sophisticated scam was carried out by fraudsters who compromise email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfer of funds.
The Global TransPark is a division of the N.C. Department of Transportation. NCDOT is conducting an internal review of the incident and alerted employees to be vigilant against email scams.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the N.C. Department of Information Technology are continuing to investigate the theft.
Original story published on Wednesday, August 7 at 4:18pm:
Wire fraud email scam reported at GTP
A financial employee at the N.C. Global TransPark fell victim this week to a sophisticated email wire fraud scam. The incident, resulting in the theft of approximately $35,000, has been reported to state authorities and is being investigated.
The scam targeted business email and wire transfer payments. “Business email compromise” is a sophisticated scam carried out by fraudsters compromising email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfer of funds.
The Global TransPark, which is an industrial and business park based in Kinston, is a division of the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Upon learning of the scam, the NCDOT notified its account holders. The State Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Information Technology’s Cybersecurity and Risk Management Office and the Office of the State Auditor are conducting a thorough investigation of the incident.
State and federal officials are working to recover the stolen funds. NCDOT is conducting an internal review of the incident to prevent other cyberattacks. The agency has alerted employees to be vigilant against email scams.
“These types of scams are a growing risk to state and local governments,” said North Carolina’s Chief Security Risk Officer Maria Thompson. “That’s why we require employees to receive cyber awareness training to alert them to always be suspicious of social engineering techniques geared at seeking personal information or money. Employees should always stop, think and verify before taking any action.”
No further information is available at this time.
