Rotterdam police probe apparent hacking of town computer system
Emblem on a Rotterdam police car in Rotterdam Wednesday Feb. 20, 2013. Police say someone hacked the town’s email system in January 2021. (John Carl D’Annibale / Times Union)
John Carl D’AnnibaleROTTERDAM – Police and and employees of the town IT department are investigating how hackers were able to gain access to the work email of a town employee and then send out requests to town residents asking them for personal information, according to Lt. William Male, a police department spokesman.
He said that as of Tuesday morning, the police had not received any reports that any one who got the fraudulent emails had fallen victim to the attempted scam.
After initially saying that a number of town employees may have had their work emails compromised, police Tuesday afternoon clarified that it was actually only one.
Police said the data breach occurred at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, reminding Rotterdam residents that the town would never ask them for their driver’s license or social security in an email.
Anyone who received an email seeking that sensitive information is being asked to call Rotterdam Police at (518) 630-0911.
