On January 17, 2017, officials in Farmington, Connecticut disclosed that the town was recently the victim of a multi-million dollar theft likely perpetrated by sophisticated cybercriminals operating in China. The thieves intercepted a $2 million dollar Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer that was intended as payment to a local company for work on a large town project.
The theft, which serves as a stark reminder to organizations of the need to assess and update their money transfer internal controls, is the latest in a string of cyber fraud schemes exploiting ACH, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), and other money transfer systems. Similar thefts of municipal money have been reported in Kansas, Texas, and New Hampshire, and attacks on banks in Ukraine, Bangladesh, and Ecuador have resulted in losses ranging from $10 million to $81 million.
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