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Crime Prevention Week - Small Businesses need to protect against Invoice Scam

Media Release
Cornwall Police Service

Crime Prevention Week - Small Businesses need to protect against Invoice Scam
The Cornwall Community Police Service would like to make businesses in the City aware of an alleged fraud scam that targets businesses with false invoices. Typically small to medium size businesses are contacted by telephone and the person on the other end will already have a certain amount of information about the victim company.

Cornwall - Nov. 8, 2011 - The Cornwall Community Police Service would like to make businesses in the City aware of an alleged fraud scam that targets businesses with false invoices.

Typically small to medium size businesses are contacted by telephone and the person on the other end will already have a certain amount of information about the victim company. Often this information is available to anyone on the internet. They will advise the person they are speaking to that they are going to be sending an invoice for services rendered, for instance an ad or for adding their business to a list on their respective website.

Another scenario is that you will not even receive a telephone call, an invoice will just simply be sent to your business for the service they “provided”.

The business then receives an invoice. The invoice amount is small enough that regular accounting wouldn’t question it. The amount would be paid and the scam would be successful.

The Cornwall Community Police Service would like to remind businesses that they can lessen their chances of becoming a victim of invoicing fraud by following some simple guidelines and practicing due diligence.

  • When receiving an invoice, you should carefully read and verify it.

  • If the invoice is for a product that you did not ordered, do not send a payment.

  • If a product is received and not ordered, do not send payment. Contact the seller to inform them that you did not want or order the product and that the seller should arrange to have it picked up.

  • Make it a habit to properly study incoming invoices and verify that there are corresponding orders.

  • Always make sure that the supplier on the invoice is correct. (There can be illegitimate suppliers using similar sounding names of companies that you usually deal with.)

  • Be aware of the small variations of this scam.

    • A fraudulent invoice to renew a membership

    • Renew an Internet domain name, or

    • Pay for advertising.

    For more tips and information you can visit the Fraud Awareness area of the Competition Bureau of Canada’s web site at www.competitionbureau.gc.ca .


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