Oops! ‘Phishing’ scam cost small Ohio city $219,000, finance director his job

Phishing-scam training has become a commonplace requirement in many workplaces  these days. But not everyone is adhering to its lessons.

When emails from a fake paving company landed in the inbox of an accounting assistant working for a small Ohio city last month, the assistant was hooked.

The author pretended to be an existing vendor and persuaded the finance worker in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard, Ohio, to change bank-routing information for the vendor.

A day later, the city paid that account $218,992.06. Taking such actions is part of the standard work of an accounting assistant, but there is a verification protocol that was not followed, city officials told The Columbus Dispatch, a member of the USA TODAY Network.