SOCORRO, N.M. (KRQE) – Another school district is trying to figure out how to come up with $200,000 taken through a scam.

The State Auditor’s Office said personnel at San Antonio Elementary in the Socorro School District were tricked into diverting state taxpayer money to thieves.

They say the impostor posed as a legitimate business and asked school personnel to change the way they paid one of their vendors, but it was a scheme and actually diverted the funds to the crooks.

The Auditor’s Office said it has been notified of three attempted transactions like this targeting local governments. The two other agencies were able to stop payment before it was too late — the Socorro School District was not.

Last year, a similar scheme targeted Zuni and Deming Public Schools and San Miguel County. In that case, the county lost nearly $40,000.