SQ warns of new small business fraud

The Sûreté du Québec wants to warn the public against fraud by false supplier, an emerging ploy in Quebec that targets small and medium-sized businesses. To date, thousands of dollars have been transferred outside of Canada.

What is false supplier fraud?

At first, the fraudster hacks into exchanges between a Quebec company and a supplier located outside the country. He analyzes not only the transactions, but also the links between the individuals.

When he has gathered enough information about the two companies, the fraudster impersonates the supplier, and by deceit, asks by email for the customer to make a bank payment in an account other than the one usually used for that type of payment. The client company, convinced to do business with the supplier, proceeds to make the payment by electronically authorized bank transfers.

Unfortunately, it is only later, during real exchanges with the supplier that the client company notices the fraud.

Prevention tips:

‐Raise awareness among staff and establish internal security measures for people with access to credit transfers;

- Systematically check with persons in authority within the company before proceeding with a transaction;

Always provide for a counter-call from the bank in the event of a transfer above a certain amount;

Limit communication of information about the organization of the company, its organization chart, the communication of individual information, the company's website, social media, etc.

What to do if targeted?

Make a complaint to local police; Notify and check with your banking institution, as depending on the delay it is sometimes possible to stop transactions;

Report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-fraud Center;

Conduct checks by the company's IT department to try to identify the IP address of the offending party;

Use a private lawyer, ideally in the country to which the money has been transferred to see if there’s a possibility of recovering some of the funds; (taking into account the international nature of remittances and judicial delays).

Economic Crime Investigation Service

The Sûreté du Québec has an Economic Crimes Investigation Service whose mandate is to investigate new forms of economic crime such as identity theft for embezzlement purposes. It conducts investigations relating to economic crime throughout Quebec and investigates products acquired as a result of the commission of economic crimes.

For more information on the prevention of fraud, the public is invited to visit the Sûreté du Québec's Web site at www.sq.gouv.qc.ca and to consult the website of the Canadian Anti-fraud Center.