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Charlotte Housing Authority data breach started with fake email

A Charlotte agency in charge of making sure that low-income families have homes was breached, Channel 9 confirmed.

[LETTER: Charlotte Housing Authority letter to staff]

The Charlotte Housing Authority said the breach started with a fake email earlier this week.

Channel 9 learned that an employee replied to the email, handing over sensitive information.

That one email is affecting hundreds.

The Charlotte Housing Authority is now scrambling to make it right for more than 340 staff members who worked there in 2016 and 2017.

In a memo to staff, Charlotte Housing Officials said someone pretending to be the CEO sent a staff member for employee W2s.

The recipient responded, and gave it away, including employee names, Social Security numbers, where they live and how much they make.

Cybersecurity expert Theresa Payton said scams like this happen all the time.

“It's considered one of the top five,” Payton said.

To help prevent the breach, Payton said organizations should contact their email provider to create a warning that pops up on every outside mail.

“So now if you’re thinking you are getting an email from your boss, but it says warning, this is an external source; it gives that employee that really quick warning,” Payton said.

The Charlotte Housing Authority also has added extra precautions for its staff, including two years of credit monitoring and identity theft restoration for free.

Earlier this month, a Lincoln County lawmaker announced plans to introduce legislation to protect residents from data breaches and cyberattacks.

Rep. Jason Saine, Republican from Lincolnton, said his bill aims to prevent breaches by requiring companies to safeguard people's personal information.

If that's compromised, the company would have to notify customers faster and could face more penalties.

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