Most of the nearly $200,000 scammed from Floyd County School District recovered

FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. - Police in Floyd County said they were able to recover most of the nearly $200,000 taken during a recent phishing scam.

School officials inadvertently wired $194,672.76 to what they believed was to be the roofing contractor. Ben Hill Roofing had recently completed work at Armuchee High School. The district received what they believed to be an invoice from the company. The mistake was not caught until the real invoice arrived.

Police said investigators were able to "follow the money." That money was found in Lakeside National Bank in Texas. Bank officials said it had already flagged the account after money was moved between accounts.

The bank cooperated fully with the investigation and worked to help the school district recover most of its money.

"We are extremely grateful for the assistance of the Floyd County Police Department, Chief Mark Wallace, and Major Jeff Jones as well as Lakeside National Bank during this cybersecurity investigation and recovery," the Floyd County School District wrote in a statement.

Investigators said it can be difficult to recover money from phishing scams because the cash is filtered through several accounts and moved around. They said the district’s timely reporting aided in the quick recovery.

Lakeside National Bank is working with police to try to recover the remaining $5,338.41.

No arrests have been made.