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CITY HIT BY FRAUD

City of Prince George falls victim to ‘sophisticated’ cyber fraud of over $700,000

Nov 10, 2020 | 10:28 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – The City of Prince George is the victim of sophisticated computer fraud after staff at the City were advised that two payments totaling over $700,000 had been redirected and were never received.

In a release the PG RCMP say they are following multiple leads and working with international partners to identify those involved.

“Our first concern was to determine the extent of the fraud and who was affected,” says Cpl. Craig Douglass spokesperson with the Prince George RCMP.

Investigators were able to work with financial institutions to recoup most of one payment, but over $375,000 remains missing after the RCMP received their initial report in early September.

“There are no indications that the City of Prince George was hacked or that personal information was compromised,” say RCMP.

The Prince George RCMP say they are aware of recent, similar frauds being committed in our community and elsewhere in Canada. Investigators want to remind other governments, businesses and individuals to be mindful of computer-based frauds.