Collier Mosquito Control District loses nearly $100K in scam

A tax-payer funded agency was taken for nearly $100,000, according to a police report.

A police report says Collier Mosquito Control District received what turned out to be a fraudulent email in June, and that’s what led to the Director of Administration for the district to send out more than $98,000 to a fraudulent bank account.

The money was supposed to go to their health insurance provider, according to the police report.

Collier Mosquito Control District was duped by someone posing as a representative of the provider, and used the name of a real employee.

The district employee didn’t realized they’d been phished, until they went to pay this month’s premium, and the real provider said they’d never received their previous payment.

The police report notes Collier Mosquito Control District raised concerns to their real health care provider about sending the initial payment.

Collier Mosquito Control District is insured for the loss of funds, according to a mosquito official. The taxpayer dollars were protected.