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County Website Hacked

Written by KEYT Assignment Desk

Story Created: Mar 29, 2011 at 3:08 PM PDT

Story Updated: Mar 29, 2011 at 7:22 PM PDT

Computer hackers from overseas gave local tax payers quite a scare after compromising a local government website.

Now a local tax collector is warning residents who have used the website and made payments on it.

Ventura County's Online Credit Card Payment System was recently hacked from a location in the Philippines, according to county officials.

Over the weekend, thousands of fraudulent emails were sent to residents who use the county site to pay their property taxes.

Ventura County Tax Collector Steven Hintz says he even received what's called a "phishing" email on Friday night.

Phishing is the use of a fake website link with authentic looking logos. The links are sent out in emails to the victims, in hopes they will click on the fraudulent link and provide personal information used to steal identities and commit credit card fraud.

County officials say they do not believe any personal financial information was disclosed, but those responsible may have had access to addresses and telephone numbers.

Hintz says his office will never ask for personal information online, such as social security numbers. Hintz added that victims should not respond to follow-up emails requesting personal information.
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