Calgary

Scammers pretend to be from U of C and make off with $46,000 worth of goods

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Three businesses have received fraudulent emails ordering products to a local warehouse

Calgary police are warning businesses to confirm purchase orders after people pretending to be from the U of C stole goods. (David Bell/CBC)

Calgary police are investigating after $46,000 worth of products were taken through fraudulent orders by people pretending to represent the University of Calgary.

CPS first became aware of the scam on Jan. 19, after a local business received an email with a fake purchase order that appeared to be from the school, ordering $13,000 worth of power tools.

The tools were delivered to a warehouse the next day and a receptionist signed for the tools.

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"When another order was made for the same tools a day after the delivery, the business called the university to confirm that the second order was not a mistake and learned that the university had not placed either of the orders," said police in a news release.

"When police went to the warehouse where the first order was delivered, it was empty and had been rented fraudulently."

Two other victims

Two other businesses were also affected by the scam, according to police. They both received the same emails and delivered products to a warehouse they thought was tied to the U of C.

"The Calgary Police Service is warning businesses to always confirm online orders by contacting the customer directly through a phone number or email that is known to be legitimate," reads a news release on the investigation.

"When responding to email orders from companies or institutions, look for any unusual attributes after the @ sign. If it does not match other email addresses from that organization, then questions should be asked."

Anyone with information on the investigation is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.