Corner Brook RCMP is investigating a case of fraudulent activity against the Town of Irishtown-Summerside, where an unknown individual intercepted an email thread between the Town and a legitimate vendor, resulting in payment for an invoice being sent electronically from the Town to the fraudster, instead of to the vendor.
During the email exchange, the fraudster provided an email address for payment of a legitimate invoice by e-transfer, making it look like the payment would be going to the vendor. The Town detected the fraud when an attempt was made to redirect payment for another invoice from a different vendor.
It is believed that the same person(s) may have been responsible for emails to some residents of the town, offering a 5% discount on their property taxes if payment was made via e-transfer using the email address provided.
The RCMP urges towns and individuals to be vigilant in their email and online interactions and to make a report to police if they've been defrauded.
Do the following to protect yourself and your organization:
- Avoid clicking on links in a text or email requesting a payment that you were not expecting.
- Do not click on links or attachments in text or email messages from someone unknown to you.
- Verify the email address through another channel, such as via a phone call to confirm its validity.
- Scrutinize email addresses as sometimes an email address can be only one or two letters off to try and trick unsuspecting victims to trust the sender, so it's important to take a close look.
- Perform regular digital "checkups" to protect passwords and personal information. Learn more here: https://www.interac.ca/en/content/life/digital-self-care-stay-safe-online-with-the-ultimate-cyber-security-checkup/.
To learn more about scams and what to do if you've been targeted, visit: https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm