White City says it has recovered almost $200,000 lost to fraud this summer

White City says it has recovered the majority of the funds lost in a fraud case back in July.

According to a statement from the town, the loss came after a fraudster “electronically impersonated the WCRM158 Wastewater Authority, jointly owned by the Town of White City and the RM of Edenwold.”

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The town, which is located just east of Regina, said its losses added up to around $200,000, and through its cyber insurance policy it has “recaptured” $195,073.05, meaning its total net loss adds up to around $5,000.

White City said it is still working with the RCMP, and because the investigation remains open no further information on how the funds were recovered can be shared.

The town said the fraud was an isolated incident, and noted that there was no breach involving the town’s internal security systems or personal information of ratepayers, which was confirmed by an IT review.

White City said it has taken steps aimed at preventing fraud from affecting its finances in the future.

“As of September, the Accounts for Approval Report will only be published online after Council has approved the accounts,” the town explained in a statement.

“Once approved and processed, the full list of accounts will be available to the public at the next Regular Council Meeting or may be viewed in-person at the Town Office upon request. Current staff-led training initiatives will continue to enhance employees’ ability to identify and prevent potential instances of fraud.”

White City wasn’t the only community affected by the fraud. The RM of Edenwold also lost nearly half a million dollars in the same incident.