Lacey utility payment system hacked

Hackers hit the City of Lacy's online bill payment website, which means if you pay your utility bills online, you might need to lock down your information.

The city says someone broke into its online system between August and October of 2019.  The system is now shut down, and anyone trying to pay a bill is redirected to this letter, explaining what happened.

Investigators are still working to figure out who's responsible for the hack, and exactly what they got away with.

There are a variety of ways to protect yourself from being victimized by hackers.  One of the simplest is just to keep an eye on your credit report, and monitor your finances closely, so you can tackle any unexplained charges right away.  You can also place a fraud alert, which lets businesses know they need to take extra precautions before opening a new line of credit.  That can slow down criminals trying to open a new credit card or take out a loan in your name.  In extreme cases, you can freeze your credit entirely - which means nobody - including you - can open a credit card in your name.  You'll have to un-freeze your credit if you want to take out a loan to buy a car or a house.

You can find more information about the options here.

As for paying your utility bills - until Lacey's online system is back up and running, you'll have to go the old fashioned route: mail your payment in, use the city's drop box, or call it in.

Mail: City of Lacey, PO Box 34210, Seattle, WA 98124-1210

Drop Box: 420 College Street SE, Lacey

Phone: (360) 491-5616