Calgary police are warning the public about a scam making the rounds that is estimated to have cost local businesses a total of $100,000 this year.
Investigators said the purchasing order scam had been prevalent in the United States and now appears to have crossed the border into Canada, with a total of 10 Calgary businesses affected in 2017.
In the scam, fraudsters pretend to work for reputable post-secondary institutions and contact businesses under the guise of placing an order for a product that the business sells.
After speaking with the company or receiving a quote for the products, the scammers will send the business a fraudulent purchase order.
The items are then shipped to a local address not associated with the actual post-secondary institution and the business does not get paid. Police say by the time the business realizes it’s a scam, the product has been shipped to a different location, and the business is unable to recover their merchandise.
“Scammers are using real employee names and details from local Calgary post-secondary institutions to make this scam seem more legitimate,” police said in a Thursday news release. “They are also spoofing email addresses and domain names to make it seem like the communications are coming from an official source.”
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According to the Calgary Police Service (CPS), fraudsters are typically attempting to order $50,000 to $100,000 worth of items on credit in each instance.
The CPS is asking anyone who has suffered a loss as a result of this scam to call the non-emergency number at 403-266-1234. Victims can also report scam emails to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre through their website.
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