After hack, Fairfieldbased Save the Children tightens security.
It’s been a year since hackers scammed Fairfield-based Save the Children out of almost $1 million, and the nonprofit says it has since doubled down on security.
“We have improved our security measures to help ensure this does not happen again. Fortunately, through insurance, we were ultimately reimbursed for most of the funds that were stolen,” read the statement emailed Thursday to Hearst Connecticut Media.
Reports from The Boston Globe said the company was tricked into sending almost $1 million to a fake company in Japan after a worker’s email account was hacked by scammers in 2017. The hackers reportedly posed as an employee and created false orders and documents.
The Connecticut-based U.S. affiliate of the international organization says it was reimbursed for all but $112,000 of the stolen funds through its insurance. How or if the remaining funds will be recovered is uncertain.
Industry observers suggest that this serves as an example of how on a large scale, one scam through an email can affect a company’s finances and reputation.
“One thing we always say is a business or organization is also a consumer. All year long we strive to educate consumers on the dangers of cyber attacks, said Luke Frey, spokesperson at the Better Business Bureau. “It’s really important for organizations like this to educate their employees during the onboard- ing process throughout the time being an employee about these types of scams.”
Frey said the email scam is like other episodes in which larger companies have been hacked in recent years, including Target and Sony Pictures. Though there haven’t been many cases were charities have been targeted, he said that might also become a trend.
The scammers who targeted Save the Children claimed money was needed to purchase solar panels for health centers in Pakistan, a country where the organization has worked for decades, according to published reports.