Clark Fork suffers $480K scam attack

CLARK FORK — Officials are battling to recover $483,519 after the city mistakenly transferred funds to a scammer impersonating a construction contractor’s manager. 

After being made aware of the fraud attempt, Clark Fork officials tried to cancel the payment but are uncertain if they were able to freeze the funds successfully. According to Clark Fork Councilor Jay White, the incident is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service.

The scam occurred in mid-November when the Clark Fork officials paid a bill for excavation work done during the summer as part of the city’s grant-funded initiative to improve its drinking water infrastructure.  

Officials had no reason to suspect fraud; during an Oct. 14 meeting, Clark Fork City Council met with staff members of the contractor to outline payment requirements for the final work of the season. 

“Most of the people familiar with the project within the city management had been communicating regularly via scheduled meetings and emails. The timing of the scam was never a reason for suspicion and the request for delivery of payment seemed timely,” White said. 

Clark Fork’s staff initiated the payment Nov. 15, and the city’s bank authorized the withdrawal Nov. 18. Almost immediately after the payment was made, the contractor became suspicious of a fraudster impersonating its manager and alerted the city. On Nov. 19, Clark Fork officials notified the city’s bank and asked it to cancel the transaction. 

“We are waiting for confirmation from the bank to tell us whether we were successful in stopping the payment,” White said, adding that city officials were “guardedly optimistic” about recovering the funds. 

According to White, officials expect to learn the outcome of the payment by Thursday, Nov. 28. 

Clark Fork’s scam incident isn’t the only one of its kind. Gooding, a small town in southern Idaho, faced a similar attack in June when a fraudster impersonated a contractor working on the city’s wastewater infrastructure. City officials mistakenly sent the scammer nearly $1.1 million before discovering the fraud and working with the FBI to ultimately recover a majority of the funds.