Colo county: Hacker takes $146K from bank accounts

A rural Colorado county says someone stole more than $146,000 from its bank accounts through an attack on its computers.

Huerfano County Administrator John Galusha said Friday the theft occurred this month when someone sent a bogus email to the county purporting to be from a shipping company. He says a county official clicked on a link in the email, inadvertently triggering a virus that initiated the transfer to banks in Europe.

Galusha says insurance companies have promised to reimburse the loss.

County prosecutors say federal officials are investigating. The U.S. attorney’s office says prosecutors are aware of the theft but declined to comment.

Galusha says a similar attempt to steal $80,000 from county bank accounts in June was foiled when a broker involved became suspicious.