Surrey, BC, 32, has been arrested and accused in relation to a cyber scam that caused half a million dollars in funds from the city to be sent to a false seller, according to the police.
A personnel member of a housing affiliate in the city received an email in March 2024 that seemed legitimate with an “altered bank details for a payment of suppliers,” according to the police.
The email was received a month after the city was beaten with a ransomeware attack in February of that year that interrupted several services and cost the city millions. Police said the incident made an environment “more vulnerable to human error and external manipulation.”
“Believing that the information is precise, the staff member processed a transfer of electronic funds for more than $ 550,000, an amount that greatly exceeds the real invoice, in a bank account in a financial institution in Surrey,” police said in a press release on Wednesday.
The city realized the error later that month, police said, after the legitimate supplier said no payment was received. Police said that, together with the city’s general auditor and an independent forensic accounting firm, they discovered that the funds were placed in an account of the company linked to Surrey’s man, who “quickly dispersed the funds” in other accounts.
Police said through legal actions and in collaboration with the police in Surrey and Edmonton, they recovered $ 417,000.
“The city suffered a financial loss of more than $ 130,000, in addition to forensic and legal expenses. The city has indicated that restitution will continue,” said the police.
CBC Hamilton contacted the city to comment, but did not receive an answer before the publication.
The Public Information officer of the Hamilton Police, Adam Kimber, told CBC Hamilton that “the investigation is ongoing in other people who received funds that were the income of this fraud.”
The police obtained an arrest warrant against the man and delivered on July 7 at the Central Police Station in Hamilton, according to Kimber, after they made arrangements with their legal advisor.
According to Kimber, the man was accused of:
- Fraud more than $ 5000.
- Possession of property obtained for crimes of more than $ 5,000.
- and wash the crime product.
