Codiac RCMP warn Moncton-area businesses of spoofed vendor e-mails
The Codiac Regional RCMP warned local businesses on May 26 about a recurring business e-mail compromise scheme that police said can cause "significant financial losses."
According to the RCMP release, fraudsters pose as known vendors or clients using addresses that look nearly identical to the real ones, often changed by a single letter, an added space or a punctuation mark. The business is told that banking or contact details have changed, or simply receives instructions to pay or ship to new details. It only learns of the fraud when the real vendor or client says it never made the request and never received the money or goods.
The warning came three weeks after Cranbrook RCMP in B.C. reported similar cases involving hijacked Microsoft 365 accounts. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says spear phishing caused about $57.7 million in reported losses in the first half of 2026.
What to do
- Confirm any request to change payment or banking information by contacting the company directly, using details already on file.
- Compare sender addresses carefully against earlier genuine messages.
- Be wary of urgent or unexpected payment requests and set strict internal approval steps.
- Report to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
