BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Leaders at St. Ambrose Catholic Parish in Brunswick say hackers stole $1.75 million from the church that was earmarked for renovations.
In a letter to the parish, Fr. Bob Stec says last week he was contacted by the contractor asking why they hadn't been paid for the past two months. Stec says the church believed they had been prompt with the payments and were shocked to learn the payments had not been received.
After investigating, the FBI and Brunswick police discovered hackers had infiltrated the parish email system and deceived church leaders into believing the contractor had changed their bank and wire transfer instructions to send the money to a fraudulent account.
The letter goes on to say the parish is now working with police, the FBI and the diocese to secure their systems and take necessary actions, adding the hack was confined to just two email accounts.
The church says no parishioner data was compromised and hacking was confined to the email system.
Meanwhile the FBI continues to investigate.