WHOOPS

Puerto Rico Loses Over $2.6 Million in Email Phishing Scam: Report

The territory’s Industrial Development Company reportedly sent the money to a fraudulent account after getting a fake email about a bank account.

The Puerto Rican government lost more than $2.6 million in an email phishing scam, an official told the Associated Press. The finance director for the territory’s Industrial Development Company, Rubén Rivera, wrote in a police complaint Wednesday that they had sent money to a fraudulent account on Jan. 17. They reportedly sent the funds after receiving a fake email that claimed there was a change to a bank account tied to remittance payments. It’s not clear if any of the money has been recovered, and police have not spoken publicly on the matter. The Industrial Development Company also has not made a public comment. Puerto Rico is in the midst of a 13-year recession that has prompted the government to decrease some services.