Thieves can strike anywhere. That became very evident recently when Anderson County Sheriff Vern Valentine had an electronic thief steal one of his paychecks. Valentine says the investigation by the FBI is looking into the theft of not only his check, but two checks from a Sheriff in a neighboring County, as well as an Anderson County jailer. The thefts occurred from last Summer through December and the investigation could extend to several similar thefts involving Public Officials in Counties all across Kansas. The hacker submitted a deposit account change form electronically to the Anderson County Clerk’s office that included Valentine’s forged signature.
The FBI officials say the payroll redirect scam is picking up speed. According to the release cybercriminals target employees through phishing emails designed to capture an employee’s login credentials, then they add rules to the employees account preventing him or her from receiving alerts regarding direct deposit changes. Direct deposits are then changed and redirected to an account controlled by the cybercriminal.
