DICKINSON, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Dickinson Public Schools has fallen victim to a sophisticated email fraud scheme that redirected nearly $4.92 million in vendor payments to criminals posing as a trusted contractor.
The district identified the business email compromise scam after criminals impersonated a vendor and redirected two scheduled payments to a fraudulent account. District officials immediately notified financial institutions, initiated recovery efforts, and contacted local law enforcement upon discovering the irregular activity.
The Dickinson Police Department is now working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office on the ongoing investigation.
“While recovery efforts are underway, the district cannot provide additional details at this time,” the district said in a statement released Tuesday. “No additional fraudulent activity has been identified.”
The stolen funds came from the district’s Building Fund, a restricted account used for facility and construction projects. District officials emphasized that classroom budgets and daily operations remain unaffected, and a high school construction project will continue as planned with no anticipated changes.
Officials also assured the community that no student or staff personal data was accessed during the incident.
Business email compromise scams, also known as BEC, typically involve phishing and vendor impersonation.
In response to the breach, Dickinson Public Schools is implementing additional security measures, including enhanced vendor verification procedures, strengthened email security protocols and staff training focused on cybersecurity and fraud prevention.
The district said it will continue cooperating fully with law enforcement and will provide updates as appropriate while the investigation remains active.
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