Scammers tricked Calgary businesses out of $1.7M this year, police say

Calgary police want businesses to take steps to protect themselves against phishing scams. This year, the service says seven companies have lost about $1.7 million. (Pexels)

The Calgary Police Service is reaching out to businesses after a disturbing increase in the amount of money that's been taken through phishing scams so far this year.

Officials say seven businesses have reported a combined loss of $1.7 million because of fraudulent invoices that were sent to them and unknowingly paid by staff members.

Police say the scam is difficult to detect because criminals often pose as actual staff members or senior employees in order to gain access to the information they need.

"Typically, employees working in payroll or accounts payable departments are contacted by someone via email who is believed to be an employee requesting changes to direct deposit information," police said in a release.

"Once the information has been changed, employee paycheques or company invoices are then unknowingly deposited into fraudulent accounts."

That's not the only phishing method being used by fraudsters, police say.

In other cases, scammers pose as an employee's supervisor, using an email address that's very similar to the actual one, and request them to send funds to a specific address via e-transfer or by a pre-paid gift card.

Authorities say this method can lead to illegitimate access to company accounts, calendars and confidential data.

Police say there are a number of things businesses can do in order to protect themselves:

• Look at email addresses on requests and compare them to legitimate accounts in the company;
• Verify payments before sending them – either in-person or by calling them on the phone;
• Watch out for suspicious payment methods, such as through pre-paid gift cards or e-transfers; and
• Never click on any unsolicited links and ignore pressure tactics used by scammers.

Police say businesses should also consider extra security measures for accounts, such as setting up two-factor authentication, a procedure that requires a user to present two different ways to access sensitive information.

They add the best way to stop scams is to report them when they happen.

"The Calgary Police Service encourages anyone who has suffered a financial loss as a result of fraud to report it to police by calling the non-emergency number at 403-266-1234," police said.

Any business or individual who receives a fraudulent text message, email or phone call but have not lost any money is encouraged to make a report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.