Lethbridge Police advise residents to be aware of online scams

An overpayment scam usually begins with an online ad with relatively small amounts of money involved. They tend to end up with victims writing cheques for thousands of dollars or more, according to Lethbridge Police.

LPS says overpayment scams tend to be one of the more frequent forms of online fraud the Lethbridge Police Economic Crimes Unit deals with.

“One scenario has the scam artist claim they inadvertently sent the seller a cheque for more money than agreed upon. They ask the seller to deposit the cheque, keep a small sum for their troubles, and send them a cheque in return to cover the difference,” explained the LPS in a release.

“Unfortunately, the bank later informs the victim that the original cheque was fraudulent, and they are out the money sent in return.”

Police say overpayment scams can also take on different approaches, with victims being asked to forward funds to cover potential shipping costs for items like vehicles and pets.

Initially, victims are asked to pay a holding fee up front, then they are asked for further payments to cover the costs of shipping, customs or special handling requirements due to COVID-19.

“The buyer eventually recognizes they’re being scammed and loses the money they’ve already sent without ever getting anything in return,” Lethbridge Police stated.

CEO FRAUDS

CEO frauds tend to be few and far between, according to LPS. They can yield high returns for the fraudster.

In 2020, LPS received a report of a successful CEO fraud, with the targeted company losing more than $30,000.

Police noted that there were two other attempts reported, which would have netted fraudsters $130,000 and $700,000 respectively, had they been successful.

“Under this scam, the business is usually advised of a change in one of their vendor or supplier’s banking information and asks that payment be deposited into a new account,” explained the LPS.

“This usually involves the interception of a legitimate email between the two companies, with convincing details included in the fraudulent correspondence so the victim doesn’t realize they are being scammed.”

In such cases, the LPS Economic Crimes Unit recommends that any reported change to banking information be verified by contacting the vendor’s financial department directly to confirm the change before sending any funds.

More information on these and other types of scams can be found at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website here.

by Justin Goulet

Lethbridge Police advise residents to be aware of online scams

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