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Platte County Spoofed Out Of $48,000

The Platte City Corthouse
plattecitymo.com

Platte County Treasurer Rob Willard fell for an e-mail scam Friday, and it cost the county more than $48,000.

Willard received an e-mail, purportedly from Presiding Commissioner Ron Scheiber, requesting an immediate wire transfer of $48,200 to a Florida bank to pay for tax consulting services. 

Scheiber was on vacation and not responding to text messages and it was late in the day – nearing closing time for the Florida bank.

Willard said the e-mail looked legitimate and seemed urgent, so he complied ... all before Scheiber checked his messages

“People make mistakes ... this was a big one,” Scheiber told TV-9 Wednesday.

The con artists apparently contacted at least seven counties with their spoofing scheme and at least one other, Barton County, Kansas, took the bait.

The FBI is investigating the multi-state scam.

Steve Bell is afternoon newscaster and business news reporter for KCUR.  He may be reached at 816-235-5173 or  steveb@kcur.org

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