City 8-4-2017
Quick thinking by several city employees interrupted an attempted scam earlier this week, when an individual claiming to be the City Attorney directed other employees to wire funds to an account at an out-of-state bank. The multiple emails were sent during a short period of time, demanding that funds be wired immediately to comply with grant deadlines. The city employees realized the emails were not from the City Attorney in part because the attorney’s signature block was not included under her name and the emails were not consistent with usual communications from that office.
“We decided to publicize this matter,” Mayor Marian Orr said, “because of the similarity of this scam to one reported recently through the Wyoming State Bar Association. We wanted to alert businesses and governmental entities to the persistence and creativity of these scammers, who took the time to find out both our City Attorney’s name and the name of other city employees. It seems no one is immune to such attacks these days.”
The Treasurer’s office worked with both the City’s local bank and the intended recipient bank to ensure that no funds were received by the scammers. In addition, the City’s IT department confirmed that the scam involved only spoofed emails, and there was no hacking into the City’s computer system. The Cheyenne Police Department is investigating the matter as well.
