Noosa Council in Queensland has disclosed that it fell victim to an advanced cyber fraud in December 2024, resulting in $2.3 million being transferred overseas through deceptive means. According to Mayor Frank Wilkie, the perpetrators leveraged AI-based imitation tools to convincingly mimic council executives, tricking staff into approving the unauthorized transactions.

Roughly $400,000 of the stolen amount has been recovered so far, leaving a loss of around $1.9 million. The council has emphasized that no employees are being held responsible and assured residents that ratepayer information and operational systems remain secure.

Statements from the Mayor and CEO

Mayor Wilkie described the incident as “unprecedented,” warning of the increasing sophistication of technology-enabled crime:

“It enables skilled fraudsters to imitate personalities and individuals to a very high degree.”

Council CEO Larry Sengstock confirmed that while investigations are ongoing, external forensic IT specialists have found no evidence of a system breach or compromise of public data. Sengstock also explained that the council’s delay in making the matter public was due to restrictions imposed by law enforcement.

Cybersecurity analysts believe the criminals may have used AI-driven tactics—such as deepfake videos, voice cloning, or impersonation through emails and calls—to deceive staff. Dr. Dennis Desmond, a former FBI investigator, suggested that publicly available data might have been collected to craft realistic impersonations of senior officials.

These scams often exploit human trust rather than system vulnerabilities, manipulating employees into approving large transfers under false pretenses.