BARTON COUNTY – A Central Kansas bank reports they were able fend off a fraudulent wire transfer in the amount of $15,000.

First Kansas Bank President Paul Snapp says the case was the reverse of what recently happened with Barton County involving a wire transfer scam.

Unlike when the Barton County Treasurer was asked to fraudulently send money, First Kansas Bank had a customer open an account to receive the fraudulent wire transfer.

The customer would be paid a fee to pass the money to someone else.

Trying to get a handle on all the cases of fraud can be like playing the game “Whac-A-Mole.” Once you stop one case, another comes right back up.

Snapp said this is the first time First Kansas Bank has seen the back end of the deal, receiving illegally transferred money.

Snapp said they noticed the customer acting strangely and made unusual comments when opening the account.

When the wire request came into the bank on June 24, they noticed it was formatted incorrectly. The bank asked more questions before figuring out it was a fraudulent case.

Snapp said the bank sees similar fraudulent wire transfers, at the beginning stages, at least 2-3 times a week.

In May, Barton County Treasurer Kevin Wondra wired $48,600 after receiving an e-mail scam. Wondra thought the request was from the Barton County Administrator. It was not. Barton County was able to recover $34,360.70 from a bank in Georgia.