Fraudster stole over $1.5 million from city of Baltimore

A security report details that a scammer stole over $1.5 million from the City of Baltimore by spoofing a vendor and tricking staff into altering bank details. Between February and March 2025, the city’s Department of Accounts Payable completed two EFT payments totaling $1,524,621.04 to a bank account not associated with or authorised by the vendor, after a fraudster accessed the vendor’s Workday account.

The investigation shows the fraudster changed the listed bank details to their own account, with the February payment of $803,384.44 and the March payment of $721,236.60 being approved by accounts payable staff. The City was able to retrieve the $721,236.60 payment but, at the time of the report, had not recovered the $803,384.44 payment, and an insurance claim related to that payment had been filed.

Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming noted that the accounts payable department lacked safeguards to verify supplier information and had not adopted corrective measures after prior fraud cases, exposing the city to further risk. Since 2019, Baltimore has experienced two other vendor scams involving fake bank detail changes. According to Isabel Mercedes Cumming, Inspector General.