A B.C. business owner is warning others after falling victim to a sophisticated scam impersonating a BC Lions representative.
“That was a sucker punch to the gut. It was a blow,” The Pie Hole founder and president Jenell Parsons, told Consumer Matters.
Back in June, Parsons says she received an email from the BC Lions inviting her to be a vendor at the team’s home opener at BC Place.
Parsons says the email came from the team’s vice president of operations and marketing and appeared authentic. “Everything was very detailed. There were links right back to the organization – the BC Lions homepage. Everything seemed so legitimate,” said Parsons.
The team’s home opener was just days away, which meant Parsons had to act fast.
She quickly accepted the offer, paid a vendor fee and filled out a credit card authorization form. Parsons says her staff and family members went to work baking hundreds of pies and cookies, sacrificing days off to make sure they were ready.
“It was all hands on deck, my team, there was lots of overtime, my husband rolled up his sleeves, my nine-year-old daughter was coming after school to help,” said Parsons.
However, when Parsons arrived on game day at BC Place, she says she received shocking news from security. “They didn’t know who I was,” said Parsons.
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Shortly after, Parsons says the “real” VP of Business Operations and Marketing for the Lions, Carolyn Cody, informed Parsons she had been scammed.
Parsons says not only was her credit card compromised, but the loss in product was close to $40,000. “I’m exhausted mentally, physically, emotionally. I gave everything I had for this opportunity,” said Parsons.
Cody says she was first alerted about the phishing scam in May by another CFL team.
“I got an email on May 22 from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to let me know my name was being used in a scam happening in Hamilton. It was a phishing scam related to their home opener, getting vendors to give their credit card information,” said Cody.
“It was very unnerving.”
Cody says Vancouver police have been notified and several other CFL teams have since issued scam alerts. The Vancouver Police Department told Consumer Matters its financial crime section is conducting an investigation into the incident.
Cybersecurity experts warn that the best defence to avoid falling victim to phishing scams is to pause and authenticate the information.
“The lesson here is to slow down. Verify the information in a third way,” said Jane Arnett from Check Point.
“Be not trusting, in general, when people are reaching out to you.”
Moving forward, Parsons says she’ll be extra cautious. “A quick call to the BC Lions organization would have prevented me from a lot of heartache, a lot of headache, and a lot of damages,” said Parsons.
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