Nebraska school district loses $1.8 million in ‘sophisticated’ phishing scam

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Broken Bow Public Schools lost a significant amount of money in a “sophisticated” phishing scam during the school year.

Earlier this spring, the district transferred $1.8 million — money that was intended for an ongoing construction project — to a scammer after receiving a phishing email.

The district said Monday that the email contained false payment instructions that appeared to come from a trusted vendor.

According to the district, a full investigation was immediately launched with the FBI, the Nebraska State Patrol and the U.S. Secret Service.

To date, law enforcement has recovered nearly $700,000 of the lost money, and the district is trying to get more through its insurance provider.

The district said the construction project will continue as planned without interruption, and there will be no tax increases to cover the financial shortfall.

Officials said they have implemented new protocols and safeguards to prevent this from happening again.

The district issued the following statement in a press release:

“We are committed to keeping our community informed and to taking every possible step to safeguard public funds. Broken Bow Public Schools takes full responsibility for the fact that these safeguards were not in place, as well as full responsibility for this unfortunate circumstance.

We also want to share that the reason we did not make a public statement earlier was to allow law enforcement officials the necessary time and space to conduct a thorough investigation.

Thank you for your continued support and trust in Broken Bow Public Schools. Any questions should be directed to Darren Tobey, Superintendent of Broken Bow Public Schools.”

The district also said that accountability for this mistake is being addressed at multiple levels and that a thorough internal review of the event was completed.

The investigation into the scam is ongoing.