The Guam Solid Waste Authority fell victim to fraud by email and is now having trouble tracing the $267,000 it lost in the scam.

The scam occurred in June and was executed through an email from someone posing as a GSWA vendor. The email requested GSWA change the bank account number and financial institution for one of GSWA's vendors.

Without verifying the email, as required through a person-to-person verification, certain GSWA personnel made the change, and when the $267,000 payment was transferred to the bank account that was used in the scam, GSWA lost trace of the money. The personnel involved were not named.

The scam prompted Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero to write a letter on Oct. 1 to GSWA board Chairman Andrew Gayle.

GSWA has alerted authorities to the scam.

The governor wrote to Gayle suggesting GSWA should take the following steps, which can also be implemented GovGuamwide:

• Conduct an internal review of its existing financial controls;

• Determine which controls or personnel failed – holding all responsible parties accountable;

• Adopt secure email protocols and servers protecting all relevant financial data; and

• Require every employee at GSWA who is authorized to administer financial accounts to undergo basic cyberfraud detection training.

The governor did point out that the incident shouldn't be used to argue that the island's trash management agency isn't capable of managing its own operations outside of federal receivership.

Federal entities such as TriCare, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management have also been victims of malicious cybercrimes, the governor stated.