La Marque is out of more than $15K after city leaders said it fell victim to a phishing scam

LA MARQUE, Texas (KTRK) -- La Marque officials are trying to figure out who scammed the city, and now thousands of taxpayer dollars are missing.

The City of La Marque is trying to figure out where between $15,000 and $20,000 has gone. Officials say the money was stolen through a phishing scam.

It's a scheme that Lone Star Forensic Group managing director Eric Devlin said doesn't just hit individuals and their bank accounts. Devlin said thieves target governments and pretend to be vendors.

"They know they're ordering from a particular vendor, and then I send them an email just like I'm that particular vendor, and that can be done a variety of ways, an inside employee, it can be some other contact, or it can be the type of hacking information," Devlin explained.

The interim city manager told ABC13 the finance employee was new. They made a payment in December that wasn't typical for the vendor.

A routine audit caught the mistake weeks after it happened. The employee was fired.

The city doesn't believe any other city employees were involved, but an investigation is underway. Officers are investigating, but so far, no arrests have been made and the city hasn't got the money back.

"It just takes time," Devlin said. "It takes effort. It's not a snap of your finger and walk into a bank, and all of a sudden, I have the information."

Galveston recently went through this process. Nearly two years ago, officers said someone pretended to be a truck company, and sent the city payment information for new garbage vehicles.

The employee sent nearly $700,000.

Officers tracked Fawn Sloan to Kentucky and arrested her.

Last week, Sloan pleaded guilty in a Galveston County courtroom to money laundering and was sentenced to 10 years behind bars and ordered to pay the money back.

A theft expert says it happens to governments, companies, and individuals.

"Don't believe any type of communication," Devlin explained. "It does happen to everybody. Don't be embarrassed about it. Be willing to go forward and correct it."

To prevent it, experts said, don't trust the email; instead, call the vendor or person you know and ask.

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