California's San Benito County investigates suspected phishing over $697K payment
Authorities in San Benito County have launched an investigation into a suspected phishing incident involving the attempted payment of nearly $700,000.
County officials said Thursday that a payment of $696,602 was approved by the Auditor-Controller's Office. Treasurer Melinda Casillas was alerted by a bank about the transaction and notified the county's administration.
Officials said the payment was processed on Wednesday. The treasurer and the bank immediately filed a fraud claim with the FBI and requested reversal of the payment.
In a statement, the county said the payment request came from someone posing as a construction contractor as part of a suspected phishing scam.
On Friday morning, the San Benito County Sheriff and the Auditor-Controller's office announced that the amount was fully recovered.
"We continue to pursue the bad actors in this case along with our FBI partners," said the sheriff's office.
The funds have been recovered and returned to the county. We continue to pursue the bad actors in this case along with our FBI Partners.
Posted by San Benito County Sheriff on Friday, October 17, 2025
"I commend my entire team and the County Treasurer and her staff, for the rapid response and persistence required to trace and secure the reversal of funds," said Joe Paul Gonzalez, the county's Auditor-Controller. "Our primary goal is the preservation of public funds, and we are relieved to have achieved the goal."
The county also said incidents of attempted vendor fraud with the advent of AI have become more sophisiticated and have become more common.
Gonzales said his office is also implementing several corrective measures, including reinforcing controls and auditing vendor data in the county's accounting system, strengthening internal controls, along with enhnacing staff training and fraud awareness.
"We remain committed to continously improving our defenses to protect taxpayer funds," he added.