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An attempt to hack into the Lansing School District's bank accounts has been thwarted, largely due to the vigilance of District Treasurer Sue French, according to District Business Administrator Mary June King.  French noticed that small amounts of money were being withdrawn starting in July of last year. 

"What we're finding is small amounts -- forty-three cents, fifty-seven cents," King says.  "My understanding is that they'll do that with small amounts and when they go through they will come back and hit the account for a much larger amount."

French contacted Tompkins County Trust Company and they started monitoring the activity in the hopes of catching the culprit.  She also notified the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office.  The activity escalated overtime and then stopped in October and November.  It began again in December, along with other activity.  A fake passport with French's name, someone else's picture, and a false address was created, and an attempt was made to get a Visa check card using a Virginia Beach address.  Some of the monies were targeted to go to Russia.

"We managed to obtain a copy of the passport with Sue French's name and some other individual's picture that the individual tried to use to get Visa traveler's check," King says.  "It went to the United States Customs office and Passport office and they have indicated that this was, in fact, an illegal passport.  Now that it's gone to the federal level and we have that agency investigating this situation, we're hopeful that any move toward catching somebody is going to shore up our defenses a little bit."

King says the experts at the bank and Sheriff's office have told her that scams of this nature often begin with a legitimate check that someone gets hold of, then uses the name and account numbers on the check.  They may go on a 'phishing' expedition using social engineering techniques to trick people into giving them more information that allows them to access the accounts.  King says that the fifty cents withdrawals were tests to see if the account was accessible before withdrawing a significant amount.

This similar to the infamous Nigerian scam that has permeated the Internet for years.  In that variation the victim receives an e-mail or a postal letter explaining that some official needs to move tens of millions of dollars into the United States, and offering the victim a significant percentage for the use of his bank account.  According to a local FBI agent, the perpetrator 'reasonably' asks for bank account access, because he is 'trusting' the victim with all that money.  As soon as the information is provided the bank account is emptied.

"We have changed all of our accounts," King says.  "The Trust Company has been outstanding in supporting us on this.  Sue has also had to change all her personal accounts."

Attorney Dick Thaler, a school board member, told King that a similar attack had been made on his firm's bank account.  Thaler says that a check made out to UPS was deposited in a foreign bank and the hemorrhaging to the firm's account was stopped only after $19,000 had been withdrawn.  Thaler agreed to share details of that experience to help her with the ongoing investigation.

King says her biggest concern is French's safety and the safety of her identity.  She says the district is committed to doing whatever it can to protect French.

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