Kera Wanielista
Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash.
LAKE CAVANAUGH — Skagit County Fire District 7 reported this week it has been the victim of a scam that has defrauded the district of about $75,000.
The district had planned to use the money to buy a firetruck.
According to a news release from the district, someone pretending to be the district’s secretary sent an email to the Skagit County Treasurer’s Office requesting $75,500 be wired from the district’s account to another account.
The account where the money was wired on Jan. 19 appears to belong to a fake company, the news release states.
The theft was discovered and reported to the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office on Friday.
The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
The Treasurer’s Office has been notified of the alleged scam and has changed its procedure for making payments, Skagit County Treasurer Katie Jungquist said.
Previously, district secretaries were able to email financial requests for transfers, Jungquist said.
That will no longer be the case. The request will now need to be made in person, she said.
Jungquist said this was the only situation like this to have occurred in the 30 years she has worked in the Treasurer’s Office.
— Reporter Kera Wanielista: 360-416-2141, [email protected], Twitter: , facebook.com/KeraReports
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