City of Saskatoon bilked out of more than $1 million

The City of Saskatoon is a victim of a big online fraud.

The city says a fraudster electronically impersonated a construction company CFO asking for a change in banking information.

The city complied, and the next contract payment meant for the company actually went to the fraudster’s bank account. That amount was $1.04 million.

Once the city realized what happened, the internal auditor, Saskatoon Police and other authorities including banks were notified.

“This incident is a serious criminal matter, and the City is working hard to recover these funds, minimize the opportunities for this to occur in the future, and to co-operate with the police in this investigation,” said Mayor Charlie Clark.

Clark added, “I believe we have a chance to chase that money and get it back because of how quick this action has been taken.”

“As this is an ongoing investigation, the City cannot disclose further details about the fraud at this time. The city is now notifying the media and the public in an effort to be transparent and also to warn other corporations. The city will continue to work with and fully co-operate with law enforcement,” said city manager Jeff Jorgenson.

City councillor Randy Donauer said, it’s important to first get all the details about what exactly happened and how it happened before reacting when it comes to who’s to blame.

“If they followed proper protocols and procedures and did what they are supposed to do, then we can’t hold them accountable. What we have to do is hold those procedures and protocols accountable,” Donauer said.

“The fraudsters are becoming more and more sophisticated and our controls have to become more and more sophisticated,” said Jorgenson.

On Tuesday police issued a warning about a scam where fraudsters directly contacted HR and finance departments to ask for changes in banking information.

Just the day before, the city discovered it was a victim.