Ormond Beach Investigating Potential Online Utility Payment Security Breach

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Ormond Beach, FL - The City of Ormond Beach is investigating a potential security breach after at least 175 customers reported fraudulent activity on their credit cards after paying their utility bills using the City's online bill paying system. The City partners with a web payment vendor called Superion, which allows customers to pay their utility bills online. The City received multiple complaints from residents that used the online system to pay their bills and had unauthorized charges on their cards shortly after. The City was notified of these charges on September 22 and during the week of October 2. The City of Ormond Beach performed an initial security assessment of the system and worked to rebuild the server but could find no evidence of a security breach, according to a release put out by the City. The City also notified the vendor, and the vendor conducted an additional assessment and engaged a cyber security firm to conduct an independent analysis of the system. While neither the assessment nor the independent analysis found any evidence of a security breach, City officials say they made the decision to shut down the system on October 4 out of an abundance of caution. The system is still offline until security improvements are complete. On October 11, a major credit card company notified the City that 175 of its customers reported fraudulent activity after making online utility payments from September 1 until the system was shut down. The City says that it is notifying those residents who may have been impacted, and the Ormond Beach Police Department is conducting an investigation. "We still have not confirmed that there has been any kind of data breach, but because of the number of individuals that have had issues, we have taken the server down, so online payments are not possible at this point, and that will remain down until we can move to a different solution for online payments," says Kelly McGuire, Finance Director for the City of Ormond Beach. McGuire says residents can still pay utilities at City Hall or by using the City's phone system, which is separate from the web system. If you used a credit card for online utility payments through the City's online system between September 1 and October 4, you are urged to take the following steps:
  • Check your credit card account for unauthorized charges.
  • Report any unauthorized charges to your credit card issuer.
  • Consider filing a fraud report with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx .
  • You may also file a report with the Ormond Beach Police Department by calling Detective Hamilton at 386-676-3517, Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
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