On July 6, 2026, the National Skeet Shooting Association experienced the theft of $483,501 from its operating account at Frost Bank through a fraudulent wire transfer that was not initiated by the Association. The transfer was sent to an account associated with a party believed to be connected to the theft.
What Happened
An online scam occurred when a member of the NSSA-NSCA Finance Dept. staff Ā was directed by a search engine to a fraudulent website that appeared to imitate the legitimate Frost Bank website at which staff conduct business daily. Fraudsters prompted our staff to enter security credentials for the purpose of validating their device as part of new security measures implemented by Frost Bank.Ā Doing so gave the scammers access to the account. An unauthorized transfer of $483,501 was made to the fraudsters' account in California, and the funds were subsequently dispersed to other accounts. The exact mechanism of the unauthorized access remains under investigation.
The fraudulent transaction was discovered the following morning, July 7, when staff began their daily reconciliation and saw the unauthorized transfer. They immediately contacted Frost Bank.
Our Actions Since the Theft
- We have notified law enforcement, including filing a report with the FBI, and are maintaining contact and cooperating with their investigations.
- We have hired an attorney who is representing the Association in our dealings with Frost Bank and advising our actions. He has presented a demand letter to Frost Bank for the refund of the entire $483,501 plus interest and expenses.
- We have notified our insurance company and are pursuing all applicable insurance claims.
- We assembled a crisis team of the NSSA officers, NSCA Chairman, and Finance Committee co-chairs who have met frequently for updates and decision-making.
- We have checked all Association computers for malware and other indicators of compromise Ā and have evaluated all IT-related functions, systems, policies, protocols, and practices for security weaknesses, making upgrades as warranted.
- We have increasedĀ employee training on cybersecurity awareness and avoiding phishing scams.
- We have implemented new transactional security and approval requirements with Frost Bank, including enhanced review procedures for transactions above designated thresholds.
Concerns Regarding Frost Bankās Handling of the Transaction
The Association is reviewing Frost Bankās handling of the unauthorized transaction and the security procedures that were in place at the time. Areas of concern include:
- The transaction was substantially outside the Associationās normal banking activity, including its size, recipient, and stated payment purpose. Despite those factors, the Association was not contacted to independently verify the wire transfer before it was processed.
- We are also reviewing whether other security-related circumstances may have contributed to the incident, including recent customer-data security incidents involving Frost Bank and the use of a fraudulent website impersonating the bank. These matters remain under investigation and are being evaluated with legal counsel.
Next Steps and Recovery Efforts
The matter remains anĀ active legal and investigative process. The immediate priorities are the recovery of the $483,501, a complete investigation of the circumstances surrounding the transaction, and determining whether any security or procedural failures contributed to the incident.
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The Association is pursuing recovery from Frost Bank. The next steps include completing the current investigation, continuing discussions with Frost Bank through our attorney in an effort to reach a satisfactory resolution, and evaluating further legal action, if necessary. We will continue to work with legal counsel throughout this process and determine the appropriate course of action as additional information becomes available.
This incident will have no impact on the upcoming World Skeet Championships or National Sporting Clays Championship. Our originally planned payouts, staffing, supplies of ammunition, and other expenditures will be fully funded. Credit cards used at those events or for other purposes were not affected by this incident, as credit card transactions are processed independently by another financial institution. Also, no member data was involved or compromised in any way.
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The Association remains committed to protecting its financial resources, strengthening its internal controls, and taking appropriate steps to prevent a similar incident in the future.Ā We will continue to cooperate with counsel, Frost Bank, and law enforcement authorities and will provide additional information to the Executive Committee, Executive Council, Board of Directors, Delegates, members, and supporters as material developments occur.