Typically, where scammers are concerned, Jackson EMC has to warn its customers to watch out for the bad guys. However, last month, the utility itself was a victim of an email scam.
Jackson EMC spokeswoman April Sorrow confirmed the company received a fraudulent bill via email in March. She said the bill was paid because it appeared to be coming from a marketing company that is a known vendor for the utility.
"We followed the steps to make the payment only to find out later that the email had come from a fraudulent source," Sorrow said.
Fortunately, Sorrow said, the $24,500 loss was covered by company insurance.
Sorrow said the Jackson County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case locally, but Texas authorities also are part of the investigation. That's because the scammers appeared to have routed payment through a Texas bank.
Sorrow noted that all employees for Jackson EMC go through cyber-security training every month. She said the IT department will require more diligent password protection and make other practical changes as needed to prevent fraudulent emails from making their way into the company system.
According to a story in the Athens Banner-Herald's online publication, Jackson County law enforcement has been handling a large volume of scam activity in the last month, most of those involving individuals.
