Payroll scam warning in Belle Plaine

Police in Belle Plaine are warning about a payroll scam. The Belle Plaine Police Department says a local employer received an email claiming to be from an employee. The "employee" was requesting their direct deposit information be changed to a Green Dot account.

Green Dot is a legitimate online-only bank, but is often a service used by scammers.  The email was not actually sent by the employee. Belle Plaine police say the employer discovered it was a scam when they mentioned the banking change directly to the employee. They then contacted the police.

This type of scam is called a payroll diversion scam. The scammer pretends to be an employee and contacts a manager or someone with HR duties in the company who can make changes to direct deposit information.

Belle Plaine police are warning residents and businesses to be aware of this scam. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, between 2018 and 2022, over $3 million in internet financial crimes have been reported, costing over $27 billion.