Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board the target of a sophisticated scam

Hayward, WI – The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Governing Board was the target of a recent sophisticated phishing attack. A phishing attack is a type of information security threat or “scam” where hackers send out fake emails that look as if they are coming from a legitimate source and attempt to get users to take some recommended action. A hacker was able to obtain enough information to send out a fake email that appeared to come from a trusted vendor. The hacker requested payment on submitted invoices and provided information necessary to complete a wire transfer.

As soon as the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board was made aware of the scam, steps were immediately taken to contact the Tribe’s bank to stop the payment and to begin working with the bank the payment was transferred to.

On November 26, 2019 the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board reported the scam to local law enforcement who indicated based on what occurred they would be consulting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the investigation. The Tribal Governing Board is working closely with the IT Department to implement additional internal safeguards to protect the Tribe’s information and minimize the potential for scams.

Once the investigation is complete and more information is known, the TGB will provide further updates.