Tripp County State’s Attorney Zachary Pahlke reminds us: don’t click that link in your e-mail! Someone in the Tripp County Auditor’s Office clicked that link and lost 826,357 taxpayer dollars to online scammers:
Tripp County State’s Attorney Zachary Pahlke and South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announce an ongoing investigation into an email scam that led to the fraudulent transfer of $826,357 from the Tripp County government.
State’s Attorney Pahlke reports that on Oct. 15, 2025, the Tripp County Auditor’s Office was deceived into authorizing a transfer to a bank account controlled by external criminal actors. The perpetrators utilized a “spoofed” email address designed to mimic a legitimate vendor and
redirect a substantial payment.South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and federal partner agencies are currently investigating the incident. Because this is an active and ongoing criminal investigation, certain details must remain confidential to ensure investigators have the best possible chance of identifying the perpetrators and, if possible, recovering the funds.
“Scammers are getting more sophisticated, and consumers have to be vigilant,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Always verify. Call the company at its official telephone number.”
State’s Attorney Pahlke stated that Tripp County is now partnering with security experts to strengthen county administrative safeguards. He noted that updates to county protocols, combined with additional staff training, are designed to intercept and prevent fraudulent attempts and better protect the resources of Tripp County taxpayers.
Attorney General Jackley said consumers who are victims of a scam should call law enforcement or contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at consumerhelp@state.sd.us or 1-800-300-1986 [Tripp County State’s Attorney Zachary Pahlke, press release, 2026.01.06].
O.K., first, scammers, couldn’t you put your powers toward some good? Why bother innocent little Tripp County? Go hack ICE, or Kristi Noem. Steal money that’s being used to wage domestic terrorism, not local cash paying to pave and plow country roads.
Second, Tripp County: really? You get an e-mail saying, Pay us $826,357, and you just click? You don’t float your mouse over the links in the e-mail and check the URLs? You don’t call Morris Inc. in Fort Pierre, the vendor your November 25 county commission minutes show got $826,357 for improving 317th Avenue, and tell the account manager you always talk to, “Hey, we just got an e-mail requesting payment right now. That doesn’t seem to fit the contract and payment schedule we talked about last time. Is that e-mail really you?”
Don’t click that link… especially not when a dollar sign followed by any number of digits is involved.
Only click it if it’s from the state threatening your license. You never know. This is for all you Republicans out there.
I enjoy messing with scammers. You know that they’re about 99% Somalis. Every scam on the internet goes back to one or two boiler rooms full of phone scammers. They’re movies about it. I answer their questions and waste their time until they get to the part where they want me to turn on a “remote access” program or tool to allow them to go into my computer and remove the giant debt they claim is on my account.
Or, they have a photo of a pretty lady that’s so attracted to me she wants to be friends online. You can string them along for days and waste their time. Scammers in boiler rooms of phone callers hate to be strung along.
If you’re really a pest to them they’ll block your number. YAY!!