Pickford in Edmonton was targeted by a business scam, but thankfully they followed their processes, trusted their instinct, and communicated with each other to quash the scam.
In June 2019, a standard request from a customer Pickford had previous orders from (Air Products) came through. The product order (PO) numbers were correct, and it was a common request item, which totaled $22,616.
Once the order was set, the client had asked the shipment to be sent to an Air Products facility in Missouri. However, Brad, a Pickford representative, found it odd, since they typically don’t ship to the United States. Instead, he suggested the shipment should go to the Air Products facility in Edmonton. The client said he preferred it was sent to the United States address and proceeded to have Brad send their order via UPS.
Brad facilitated the request and gave a shipping quote, but the client failed to send the proper customs labels to complete the UPS process. The client tried multiple times to send customs labels, but they were incorrectly filled out each time – and the shipping address and contact name were different on each label. The client started sending rude and aggressive emails and called Brad with the same aggressive and demanding tone. This behaviour was a substantial red flag to Brad, so he talked with his coworkers about this unusual situation. One of his colleagues searched online for one of the addresses that was provided on the UPS documents. It showed a non-descript building and had multiple reviews that stated the building was being used for scams.
Brad went to the Air Products company website to find their contact information to confirm the legitimacy of the client and the order. He contacted Air Products’ Security Operations, who confirmed that they had been a common target over the last six to eight years by scammers who would pose as their employees to defraud other businesses. In fact, the FBI were even investigating the fraudsters who were committing the same business scams in the United States.
In the end, Pickford only lost $660 in shipping costs, but they were fully reimbursed. “I went back into the files and really looked at each document. That’s when I noticed the small inconsistencies. I couldn’t believe I got taken,” Brad explained. “It was a good lesson that was thankfully learned for a low cost.”
“We have become so isolated in the online world that we don’t want to pick up the phone to have that legitimate conversation, which could ultimately save you money, personal information, and more,” Detective Linda Herczeg stated. “We want citizens and businesses to take that extra time to research and verify the companies that are contacting you when something, even the small details, seem off.”
The EPS is aware that frauds committed in the business and service industries are typically under-reported. Perhaps this is due to people being of the mindset that they should have known better or seen the signs that it was too good to be true, so they absorb the cost instead of reporting it. We encourage all victims of fraud to come forward and trust in us. You are not alone.
Please see
our business fraud webpage for more fraud prevention information.