West Shore RCMP warn businesses of cyber fraud

West Shore RCMP are reminding business owners to be vigilant in the face of two incidents of cyber fraud.

RCMP are investigating reports that the IT departments of two West Shore businesses were breached and their financial accounts compromised.

“The potential for loss is huge and we would like to remind the public to be vigilant in vetting incoming emails,” said Const. Nancy Saggar. “If you don’t recognize the sender, don’t open the email or respond to it. Keep your passwords safe and it’s a good idea to change them frequently.”

RCMP are not naming the businesses, but said the incidents happened in the last four months.

In each case, the cyberattacks came via email and involved an unknown party assuming the email address of the business manager. That address was used to send emails to the accounting department ordering wire transfers to third party accounts. Those accounts belong to the fraudsters.

Both affected businesses reported a foreign IP address was detected within their systems and there were efforts to create fraudulent payments.