The city of Waco said they are investigating a situation in which payment information for some water bills paid by credit or debit cards were not properly protected by encryption.
The city said that this issue involved about 2,500 payments made through the city's online payment system between Dec. 24 and Jan. 4. People who were affected by this have received a letter in the mail.
They added that payments in question were properly credited to each account, and the files have been secured. The issue only involves the system to pay water bills.
“There is no indication that the files in question were subject to improper use by an outside party or utilized for any illegal activity,” said James Brown, Director of Information Technology for the City of Waco. “Based on our investigation to date, it appears that the unencrypted files were stored on the city’s server but there is no indication at this time that the information was accessed or utilized by any unauthorized individuals."
For now, the city recommends that Water Utilities Department customers who paid with debit or credit cards during the time period in question take the following precautions:
- Check your credit card/debit card statements for any unauthorized charges;
- Immediately report any issues to your financial institution and to the City of Waco at the Water Office, (254) 299- CITY (2489)
At this point, the city does not believe it is necessary for you to cancel any credit or debit cards unless you identify unauthorized use.The specific problem with the files has been corrected, and you can continue to use the system to make water bill payments.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the city at (254) 299-2489 or at Info@wacotx.gov. Additional information may be found at Wacowater.com.
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