ambrose cathedral in des moines, iowa, midday holds special meaning. >> it's gone. and so you have to take a deep breath and you have to trust in the lord. >> reporter: what was gone-- all gone-- says bishop richard pates was more than $680,000 the diocese had just raised to help the homeless and abused women, swiped in a covert attack by hackers. >> why would they do it at a particular time when we had the greatest amount of funds available? >> reporter: the iowa heist is part of the latest wave of cyber crime, account takeover fraud. in it, crime gangs-- many located in eastern europe-- target small towns, community banks and civic organizations which often lack high-tech defenses. earlier this month, the town of pittsford in upstate new york was taken for $139,000. in 2010, this public library in delray beach, florida, got hit for $160,000. a new jersey beach town lost $600,000. the heist begins with a technique known as spear phishing. in it, hackers lure an organization's financial officer with an e-mail, a note that appears to be from a friend or the i.r.s., e