MacEwan University in western Canada has recovered $10.9 million or over 92 per cent of the money it lost in a recent cyberattack committed through email.
On August 23, 2017, a series of fraudulent emails convinced university staff to change electronic banking information for one of its suppliers. As a result, $11.8 million was transferred into a bank account that staff thought belonged to Clark Builders.
An internal university team was praised for helping recover much of the money along with others.
Praise for scam-busters
The university credits recovery of the money to “the swift response and diligent efforts” of an internal team, legal counsel in several jurisdictions, fraud units at the banks involved and law enforcement agencies.
It has since implemented strict financial controls and is boosting IT security awareness and training for its staff and faculty. Employees will have to verify all changes to vendor master files by phone and email, and they will be reviewed by supervisory staff before taking effect. There is also a supplier audit report system which shows all changes to vendor information accessible to supervisory staff.
Anti-fraud centre works to fight scams
Online scams have grown to the point that Canada now has a central repository for data, intelligence and resource material as it relates to fraud. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) is jointly managed by the national police force called the RCMP, the Competition Bureau, and the Ontario Provincial Police.
The CAFC provides information to assist citizens, businesses, law enforcement and governments in Canada and around the world. Its stated primary goals are “prevention through education and awareness, disruption of criminal activities, dissemination of intelligence, support to law enforcement and strengthening partnerships between the private and public sectors with the aim of maintaining Canada’s strong economic integrity.”
The Better Business Bureau estimates that Canada lost $1.2 billion to various kinds of scams in 2015.
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