Cash-Strapped DNC Fooled by a Fake Ken Martin Email: Nearly $29,000 Vanished

A costly fraud: scammers targeted a new chairman days after his election, exploiting uncertainty in his communication style. (Credit: Legislative Yuan 立法院, Wikimedia Commons)

A staffer at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent nearly $29,000 (£21,800) to a stranger in February 2025. The email that prompted it appeared to come from Ken Martin, the party chairman, who had taken the job days earlier. The committee noticed within minutes, alerted its bank and recovered $7,000 (£5,300), leaving roughly $22,000 (£16,500) gone.

The email was not from Martin. Nobody has been identified as the sender, and the staffer who authorised the payment has since left the committee.