Ormond Beach utility customers warned of hackers

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Ormond Beach police officers are warning city utility customers to check their statements if they used their credit card to pay their bill online.

It's supposed to be for convenience, but online billing at the Ormond Beach Utility page is shut down, after police say several credit card accounts were hacked.

"We use an outside vendor. We received notice a few weeks ago, that someone had their account hacked after using the account," said Capt. Christopher Roos of the Ormond Beach Police Department.

The first one happened on September 22 and then 19 other incidents were reported.

"They ran some tests and couldn't find anything. But more complaints came in, at which time the city locked down their account."

Locked down, after a credit card company told them that 175 of their customers were hacked, after making a payment on this website. Customers are concerned.

Resident Brian Gore said, "I've paid my water bill on line. So what goes though your mind after what I've told you? Hackers are everywhere and you've gotta stay one step ahead of them and its really difficult."

Authorities said they couldn't find any data breaches, but they are changing the system and warn customers to count their dollars.

"You should always track your account, make sure no one's using your money. So we recommend everyone check their accounts even if they didn't use the city's portal. Check the accounts to make sure everything's where it should be." Brian says, "In about 10 minutes I'll be checking mine."

If you notice anything suspicious make sure to tell authorities.

Capt Roos added, "They're asking people to file a report with IC3 government website and your financial institution. And in addition you can also file a report at the Ormond Beach Police Department."