THUNDER BAY — The economic crime unit of the Thunder Bay Police Service is conducting an investigation into the activities of fraudsters attempting to intercept payments intended for local businesses.
City police issued a scam alert Wednesday after receiving information that the email accounts of some businesses had been compromised.
Once they hack the email system of a business, the perpetrators reach out to clients to advise them of changes to the company's banking information, and request that payments be sent to a new account instead of the legitimate destination.
Police advise members of the public who receive a message that causes uncertainty to reach out directly to the business or institution the email is supposed to be from, in order to verify its authenticity.
Police also said it's best to obtain contact information for the business independently, rather than following the instructions received in the suspicious email.
A fraud/cyber crime report may be submitted to the Thunder Bay Police Service online.
