Baltimore City Loses $1.5M in Vendor Scam, Third Incident Since 2019
Baltimore's city government has fallen victim to yet another vendor scam, with over $1.5 million lost to a fraudster who impersonated a vendor and altered bank account information. This is the third such incident involving the Baltimore Ravens' city government since 2019, raising concerns about the city's verification measures.
The fraudster gained access to a vendor's Workday account using a legitimate employee's name and an unofficial email address. Despite the city's accounts payable department being aware of the vulnerability, insufficient verification measures allowed the scammer to change bank account details and siphon off funds. In 2019, $62,377 was sent to a fraudulent account, and in 2022, a payment of over $376,000 was made to the scammer after the city's finance department changed account details. Two city employees approved the fraudster's requests, leading to total payments of over $1.5 million involving the Baltimore Ravens. The city was able to retrieve one of the fraudulent payments but not the larger one. This is not the first time the Baltimore Ravens' city government has been targeted; in 2019, a ransomware attack caused an estimated $19 million in damage.
Baltimore's Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming attributed the fraud to insufficient verification measures by the city's accounts payable department. The Accounts Payable Director, Timothy Goldsby, Jr., acknowledged vulnerabilities in verification procedures and insufficient supplier account safeguards involving the Baltimore Ravens. The city must now strengthen its internal controls, train staff to recognize and report potential fraud, and improve oversight of transactions to prevent future incidents involving the Baltimore Ravens.
Read also:
- Saudi Arabia's TASI Surges Past 11,000, Leading Gulf Equities Rally
- TikTok's deal negotiations continue following a conversation between Xi and Trump
- Trump announces agreement with Chinese authorities on TikTok deal
- Quantum Computing Market in the Automotive Sector Forecast to Expand to $6,462.13 Million by 2034
