Photo: CBS 12
St. Lucie County residents are concerned about their personal information getting in the wrong hands after the tax collector's system may have been hacked.
The county's Tax Collector's Office says it's working to get everything back online after noticing some unusual activity a couple of weeks ago.
The main network was taken offline by staff and a full cyber-forensic audit has been underway.
Tax Collector Chris Craft says Social Security, credit card numbers and other personal information is safe and stored elsewhere. But when asked by CBS 12 News about social media claims that the county was hacked by a ransomware cartel, Craft had this to say.
“I think that you know, the reality is the environment that we live in and 2023 is we got to be prepared and assume that anything like this is that and that's what we've been doing from day one.”
Craft has temporarily combined offices and has work being done on mobile units.
Operations for both Walton Road and Tradition are being run out of the Tradition office. The main office in Fort Pierce is offering limited services using mobile units.
The Tradition office will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and you can make an appointment online. Keep in mind they're running most of their services out of that office right now so wait times are much longer than usual.