Fort St. John RCMP is warning businesses and organizations about a fraud scheme that has resulted in significant financial losses across Canada.
The scam, known as business email compromise (BEC) fraud, involves criminals using spoofed email addresses to impersonate contractors or vendors that already have legitimate business relationships with a company.
In many cases, the fraudulent email address appears nearly identical to the real one, often altered by just one letter or number.
Police said the fraudulent request often looks routine. It usually asks the recipient to change electronic funds transfer payment details and includes an invoice for services.
The victim unknowingly sends payment to the new account, which is controlled by the fraudster. In some cases, the fraud is not discovered for months.
“BEC frauds have already become big business for fraudsters, sometimes defrauding companies or organizations out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, even into the millions,” said Const. Chad Neustaeter, media relations officer for Fort St. John RCMP.
“The effectiveness of this fraud comes from piggybacking on the existing relationship of trust that had been built, which is then manipulated by the fraudsters.”
How to protect your business
RCMP recommends businesses take the following steps to reduce the risk of falling victim:
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Be cautious of time-sensitive requests involving payment changes.
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Carefully check the sender’s email address whenever asked to update banking or payment information.
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Confirm any change to payment details by contacting the company directly using a trusted phone number, not one provided in the email.
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If fraud occurs, notify finance and IT teams immediately and report the incident to police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
RCMP said cybercrime and fraud remain significantly underreported in Canada. A national Report Cybercrime and Fraud website is available to allow individuals, businesses and organizations to report incidents and help police investigate fraud.
