Cautionary Response to 'Scammers Will Scam' Article

In response to our latest 'Scammers Will Scam' article, here's a real-life cautionary tale from a BC lower mainland golf course:

About 4 - 6 weeks ago my email was hacked. The hackers located an email regarding an equipment purchase that I had put a deposit on in the fall and balance was due in the spring. They created identical invoices and emails using the vendor's contact info to contact me.

The scam was... payment was due but they were updating their payment processing system and unable to take a credit card, e-transfer was the only way to pay. This didn't trigger any alarms as the sales rep had told me the company didn't take cc payments over the phone and I had in fact, paid the deposit via etransfer.

The vendor's shop is in Burnaby and our location is South Surrey. I thought about going to the shop but as time passed and my workload increased, a trip from S. Surrey to Burnaby wasn't going to happen. Following their instructions, I sent along several etransfers (the purchase price was over my daily limit).

It was only after I sent the final payment that I suspected I may have been scammed. A phone call to the vendor confirmed my suspicion. My bank account had made the purchase but the vendor received no money.

I always considered myself "scam savvy" but I fell hook line and sinker for this one. Yes, there were red flags all along the way, which I questioned at the time. However, I never once thought this might be a scam.

Please share with your members. Fortunately, my owner has deep pockets and can absorb the mistake, but it could be devastating for a smaller operator.

If you have have experienced something similar, please let us know and we'll pass it along to fellow turf management professionals in hopes of avoiding a similar situation.