Security News > 2020 > February > 3 Employees Suspended in $4M Puerto Rico Online Scam
Puerto Rico's government said Friday that it suspended three employees as federal agents investigate an online scam that attempted to steal more than $4 million from the U.S. territory.
Manuel Laboy, executive director of Puerto Rico's Industrial Development Company, said rigorous procedures were not followed when the agency received an email alleging a change in banking accounts that prompted someone to transfer more than $2.6 million to a fraudulent account in the U.S. mainland last month.
Laboy declined to share the names and positions of those suspended, saying only that it was one employee from his agency and two from Puerto Rico's Commerce and Export Company, which sent $63,000 as part of the scam.
The scam also targeted Puerto Rico's Tourism Company, which sent $1.5 million, police have said.
José Ayala, director of the fraud unit with the police department's bank robbery division, said the scam began when someone hacked into the computer of a finance worker at Puerto Rico's Employment Retirement System in December and sent emails to government agencies.