The Prince George RCMP received a report of a significant fraud from the City of PG in early September of this year.
A staff member at the City reported that two payments to a contractor totalling over $700,000 had been fraudulently redirected and were never received.
After investigators managed to recoup most of the one payment, around $375,000 remains outstanding.
“Officers are following multiple leads and working with international partners to identify the person or persons responsible for this sophisticated computer-based fraud,” explained PG RCMP, Corporal Craig Douglass.
There are no indications that the City of Prince George was hacked or that personal information was compromised,
added Douglass.
The PG RCMP is aware of similar frauds being committed in the community and they are reminding governments, businesses & individuals to be mindful of the following:
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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- Be on the lookout for invoices that use the name of legitimate companies. Scammers will use real company names to make the invoices seem authentic. Make sure you inspect invoices thoroughly before you make a payment;
- Be extra cautious of vendors that suddenly change the method that they accept payments;
- Compile a list of companies your business uses to help employees know which contacts are real and which are not;
- Always verify that the organization you are dealing with is legitimate before you take any other action;
- Carefully verify email addresses and web domain names for any online payments.
