Treaty #3 Police investigate two large fraud cases
The Treaty #3 Police is investigating two instances of fraud that netted over $470,000.
In both cases, the businesses received a legitimate invoice.
Shortly after the invoice was received, a follow-up email was sent.
The email looked legitimate, but it was sent from a fraudulent address that differed by only one character from the original email.
The fraudulent email advised that the vendors banking information had changed and to provide new payment instructions.
The payment was made in good faith to the fraudulent email.
Police say the fraudsters are specifically targeting Indigenous organizations, and they have knowledge of vendor relationships, invoice processes and accounts payable contacts.
T3PS suggest there are a number of steps that can be taken to ensure you are not de-frauded, including two factor identification, reading email addresses carefully, and always verify banking information by phone.
If your organization has already made a payment based on suspicious banking instructions, act immediately:
- Contact your bank or financial institution right away and ask them to recall or freeze the payment
- Do not delete any emails related to the transaction
- Contact Treaty Three Police Service immediately
Police say time is critical. The faster a report is made, the greater the chance of recovering funds.
The Treaty Three Police Service has engaged the following agencies in relation to these files:
- RCMP Cyber
- FBI Legal Attaché, Ottawa
- OPP Digital Forensics
For emergencies involving immediate financial loss, contact your local police service or call 1-888-310-1122.
Please share this bulletin within your organization and affiliated organizations within your network.
