MINEOLA, NY – Today, Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman joined Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department Patrick J. Ryder to announce that an attempted cyber-attack was stopped, as well as the full recovery of more than $700,000 in County funds that were initially diverted via a phishing scheme.
The incident involved cyber-attackers initially diverting more than $700,000 in payments to bank accounts of which the cyber-attackers had control. Controls in place in the County and at the County’s bank identified this fraudulent activity and there was a coordinated investigation, which included the Financial Crimes Detective’s Unit of the Nassau County Police Department, the Office of the County Treasurer, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, and the Nassau County Comptroller’s Office. As a result of this investigation, all monies were recovered.
“In the digital age, cyber-attacks target municipalities throughout the country, costing taxpayers and residents millions of dollars. This malicious attempted cyber-crime was thwarted, and taxpayers were protected due to the efforts of this coordinated investigation,” said Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman. “The Comptroller’s Office had previously enhanced controls and as a result of this attempted cyber-attack, additional controls have been put in place.”
“The recovery of over 700,000 dollars returned to Nassau County is a prime example of how individuals continue to scam the public whenever possible,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder. “The County Comptroller’s Office, Police Department and District Attorney’s Office all worked cohesively to uncover this cyber-attack which had funds being deposited into fraudulent bank accounts. Several banks accounts were subsequently frozen and seizure warrants resulted in the recovery of the funds. I would like to praise and congratulate the dedicated investigators and their agencies for a job well done."