Missouri Bank Sues Over Hacker

A Springfield, Missouri escrow company has filed a lawsuit against BancorpSouth Bank, accusing the bank of failing to prevent a hacker from stealing $440,000 from the escrow company.

Jim Payne, owner of Choice Escrow and Land Title, told The Springfield News-Leader that his company had to take out a loan to cover the loss because the bank wouldn’t refund any of the money.

He said it appears that criminals infected the escrow company’s computer and stole its user ID and password for its BancorpSouth trust account.

Randy Burchfield, Bancorp senior vice president and director of marketing in Tupelo, Miss., said the bank would present its side during court proceedings. He declined further comment.