PARKSVILLE — Two area businesses are out a considerable amount of money after following what appeared to be a legitimate request from suppliers.
The separate instances occurred in December 2025 and earlier this month, and saw business owners receive emails from known suppliers requesting a change in banking information for payment of invoices.
Sgt. Shane Worth told NanaimoNewsNOW the email addresses were correct and the business owners made the requested changes.
“The companies here in town, they thought they were dealing with a regular supplier, and the email address looked correct. They updated the payment information this supplier wanted…and when they received an invoice from the regular supplier, the payment went to the new account information.”
When the actual supplier followed up on the unpaid invoice, the business owners pointed to the initial request for a change in payment method, and the scam became apparent.
Worth said it appears scammers were able to gain access to supplier email accounts and then targeted businesses the supplier previously or currently worked with.
Unlike most scams in the Oceanside region, which focus more on cryptocurrency and online investment, this appears to be a little more sophisticated.
“We were able to determine that the fraudulent payment was made to a bank account that was opened with fraudulent ID, and a substantial amount of the cash that was deposited into this bank account…had already been withdrawn through an ATM,” Worth said.
One account was opened in the Lower Mainland, while another has connections to Ontario.
Investigators are hoping local businesses take note of the new tactics and do their due diligence when receiving requests like this, from a supplier or trusted business contact.
“[If] they suddenly send you an email asking you to update the payment information or change the account that you make the payment to…please check with them by phone or some other means to confirm that the request that’s being made to you under their email account is legitimate.”
Worth said even if the case proceeds through the criminal justice system, businesses will often not receive what they’ve lost.
“We can trace a lot of it, and we can find out where it started, and we can identify some suspects but we can’t get your money back. Even if we charge people and charges get laid, it’s very, very difficult to get your money back, so this is what we’re trying to get the message out to prevent these from happening in the first place.”
Anyone with details on this fraud in the community or of similar instances is asked to contact the detachment at 250 248 6111, quoting file numbers 2025-11651 and 2026-1284.
Follow us on Facebook. Join Everything Nanaimo on Facebook and stay connected with everything happening on central Vancouver Island.
Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook