Over the past few months, we have received at least six similar Fraud complaints from local businesses involving scammers posing as Landlords of the building or as the business owner.
In these situations, an employee of the business receives a call from an individual posing as the building landlord or business owner stating that the Fire Marshal will be attending the business to do an inspection. The caller states that either a Fed-Ex shipment containing fire extinguishers has been dropped off but not paid for or that expired fire extinguishers need to be replaced. The employee is then instructed to take money out of their own pocket or from the business’s safe or cash register and make a bitcoin payment/app transfer to cover the cost.
Please note that this is a scam. If you receive a call like this, hang-up and call your manager, the owner of the business or the building landlord on file. It is highly unlikely that the landlord of the building or the owner of the business will ask an employee to pay for business expenses out of their own pocket, through an app or via bitcoin.
If you receive a call like this, note the phone number and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre 
If you are a victim of a Fraud Under $5,000, you can report it to us online
If you are a victim of a Fraud Over $5,000, you can report it to us by calling our non-emergency number at 705-675-9171
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