A mistake in Hilliard, Ohio, serves as a reminder to all of us. No one is immune to the scams perpetrated by online fraudsters.

In December 2022, an accounting assistant for the city fell victim to an e-mail phishing scam that cost Hilliard $219,000, according to a report by WCMH. The assistant received emails on Dec. 8 and Dec. 19 from someone pretending to be a vendor with whom the city works. Those emails convinced the assistant to change the bank routing information the city had for the vendor, and then send a payment of $218,992.06.

It then took Hilliard’s Director of Finance David Delande 35 days to tell the city manager what happened. Delande has since been fired.

“Through the City’s internal and criminal investigations, we are learning exactly what happened and when, and we are committed to finding the criminals who launched this phishing scam,” City Manager Michelle Crandall said.

Yes, finding the criminals responsible is important; but educating and monitoring city employees and administrators seems to be much more pressing. If one phisher is caught, there will be others.