A beachside council has kept ratepayers in the dark for months after losing millions to an international crime gang using "social engineering AI techniques".

Noosa Council north of Brisbane has revealed it was defrauded $2.3 million back in December 2024, sparking a major police investigation.

However the council did not tell rate payers for more than 10 months and have been tight-lipped about the nature of the "well organised cyber fraud".

"The criminals used sophisticated social engineering AI techniques but we won't disclose specific details of how the fraud occurred to protect staff and from also highlighting the criminals' actions," council CEO and basketball great Larry Sengstock said.

The four-time Olympian and former Basketball Australia boss said about $400,000 had been recove

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