The District of Wells will reimburse a councillor $1,000 she lost in a recent email scam targeting mayor and council.
Council endorsed the resolution at a special online meeting Wednesday, July 6.
Mayor Ed Coleman said councillor Shannon McDonagh immediately reached out to him after realizing she had fallen victim to the scam on Saturday, June 25.
The phishing email was sent to all councilors earlier that morning.
“When it came about, I just advised councillor McDonagh to contact the RCMP, which she did immediately, and it’s nice to have the two constables in Wells. There’s always one around so we could open that file right away,” Coleman said.
“The sooner you get on it the better.”
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When talking to police, Coleman said they’ve learned that some people have been hit much harder than they have.
Through phishing emails, criminals impersonate legitimate organizations or persons, hoping users will provide the sensitive information they’ve requested.
“Some of them are very sophisticated,” Coleman added. “This one, we’re learning more as we work with the RCMP, so we’ll know more over time.”
The District of Wells will explore if insurance covers McDonagh’s financial loss.
Coleman noted Gmail and Google also has a recovery process for such events, although he understands it takes quite a bit of time.
“It’s very upsetting for all of council when you’re victimized like that and we know it’s happening all over the place for individuals and organizations, but we’ve been working on it together and got through it.”
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