Charles Ennis, president of the Sunshine Coast Centre of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, wants people to know about a new email scam that could target other groups on the Coast.
On Monday, Feb. 6, someone emailed the astronomical society’s treasurer from what looked to be Ennis’s personal account, asking for a $5,400 payment for astronomical services. The treasurer was told to wire the funds to an account in Montgomery, Alabama.
Feeling something wasn’t right, the treasurer called Ennis directly and Ennis confirmed he hadn’t sent the email.
Ennis reported the fraud to the RCMP and to Fraudsters, but he wants groups on the Coast to be aware.
“I’m used to seeing these frauds where they say ‘you just won’ or something like that, which they’ve obviously just fired off to a million people and they’re crossing their fingers that someone’s going to reply. But this one was sent directly to our treasurer,” Ennis said, concerned about the targeting.
“I don’t know if this is going to happen to anyone else … Just thought I’d throw it out there.”
