As if a phone scam wasn’t enough, the city of Cheney has been hit with a second con, this time affecting the city’s online bill payment feature in such a way that the service has been shut down, with no indications of it reopening in the near future.
The city posted information about a phone scam (See News Briefs) on its website March 4. Upon contacting the city for more information, City Administrator Mark Schuller said a separate scam had been discovered with the online bill-paying feature.
Finance Director Cindy Niemeier said a customer notified them Feb. 16 that when they had tried to access the site to make a payment, they were asked to provide additional information, such as date of birth, something the city would never request.
Schuller then contacted the city’s website host, Jesse James Creative out of New York, about the problem. He said Jesse James initially accused the city of making the changes themselves — something they can’t do since they lack proper authorization.
After several discussions, the firm finally admitted the website had been hacked and that a number of fields had been altered or added. Jesse James subsequently shut the online payment option down, and Schuller said it will remain down for now.
Payments made prior to the shut down have gone through, Schuller said, so it doesn’t appear any customers were out money. While the online payment site is down, Cheney customers seeking to make their payments need to call the Finance Department or stop by City Hall.
While it’s rarely done, Niemeier said they will take a customer’s financial information if they wish to pay by phone. After that, the information is shredded and disposed.
“We’re not allowed to keep that onsite,” she said.
The problem doesn’t appear to stop there, however. Schuller said he and Mayor Tom Trulove have been dissatisfied with the city’s website for a number of reasons, such as not being very user-friendly when it comes to locating information.
The problem, Schuller said, is getting the site away from Jesse James Creative, who designed and built it for the city. The city is looking at its legal options while also considering its next sttep.
“We will be going out for an RFP (request for proposal) in the not too distant future to look for another provider,” Schuller said.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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