The Wisconsin Republican Party is $2.3 million short after the chairman said hackers stole funds from the party in the key swing state.
Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt told the Associated Press on Thursday the person or persons responsible for the heist targeted an account the party was using to gin up support for President Trump in Wisconsin, a state Trump only won by roughly 23,000 votes in 2016.
Hitt said that the FBI was contacted and is in the process of investigating the hack after the party noticed suspicious activity on Oct. 22. The FBI would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation when contacted by the Washington Examiner.
“There’s no doubt [the Republican Party of Wisconsin] is now at a disadvantage with that money being gone,” Hitt said.
The chairman said the attack might have begun as a phishing attempt. Phishing is when a hacker uses email or messaging to trick the victim into providing sensitive information such as passwords and bank information. Hitt said it appeared the hackers altered four vendor invoices. The invoices were manipulated so that when the Wisconsin GOP paid the vendors, the funds were diverted to the hackers.
“Cybercriminals, using a sophisticated phishing attack, stole funds intended for the re-election of President Trump, altered invoices and committed wire fraud. These criminals exhibited a level of familiarity with state party operations at the end of the campaign to commit this crime,” Hitt said in a Thursday statement.
Trump is hoping to recapture Wisconsin and has devoted several visits to the Badger State. According to a RealClearPolitics average of polls, Joe Biden is leading Trump by a 6.4-point margin.
