Police warning about new fraud scam targeting HR and finance departments

Saskatoon Police are warning the public about a new scam, targeted at HR and finance departments.

The fraudsters are emailing the departments to change banking information to a new account, and posing as employees.

Saskatoon Police spokesperson Julie Clark said these scams are different than those in the past, in the way the emails read.

“(Usually) there’s weird punctuation, or weird spacing and grammar,” she said. “They seem to be getting smarter, they’re cleaning up their spelling and their grammar, and they’re being polite and not pushy.

“A lot of the times in these scams, they’re putting a rush on it, saying, ‘you need to jump on this deal now, because it wont be there tomorrow’ type of thing. Now they’re being polite and courteous.”

When it comes to the funds that are transferred, it ends up being the employer that is on the hook for the lost funds to the fraudster, as well as the actual payments to the employees.

Clark said by the time companies realize the scam, most of the funds are transferred out of the accounts.

If you do find yourself in a scam of this nature, Clark has some tips on what to do next.

“Save (the email), you can send it in to us,” she said. “Feel free to share on your social media to make others aware.”

If it is sent in, they can sometimes track the IP address to where the scammer is located.

Clark said there is one way to fully verify if it is the actual employee looking to change their banking information, and it can be as simple as just confirming they want it changed.

“Double check, verify that (it’s) indeed that employee making that request. Have that conversation over the phone, or just go knock on their office door.”