Windsor police's Financial Crimes Unit has been taking more reports from area businesses targeted by an online scam.
Police say scammers have been gaining access to a person's email account, and then contact an employer's payroll department to change their direct deposit information. If successful, the money is rerouted to a fraudulent account.
"These requests appear legitimate because they are made directly from an employee’s real email addresses," read a social media post from Windsor police. "The scam is often not discovered until after the payment is processed and the funds are already gone."
Windsor police suggest confirming any request to change banking information through a secondary source, such as a phone call, internal messaging system, or face-to-face conversation. Do not rely on just email.
Business owners should also encourage employees to use strong passwords and multi-step authentication to protect their email accounts.
Complete information on scams and how to protect your business from them can be found on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's official webpage.
