An e-transfer scam has left a sour note with a downtown Nanaimo store owner who has done hundreds of online transactions buying and selling music and vintage audio equipment. 

Nathan Randall, owner of Heritage Sound on Victoria Crescent, had $5,000 stolen from his bank account when he sold some clearance stock to a buyer who turned out to be running an online scam. His credit union was able to recover the money this week.

Randall said the transaction happened Oct. 23. He had listed 700 items for $100 on Facebook Marketplace and was contacted by someone who offered to buy them. But instead of e-transferring the money to the seller's e-mail address, as is common practice with an Interac e-transfer, the buyer sent a message with a link to a deposit site. Randall said the site looked legitimate and was detailed, with a drop-down tab listing banking institutions in B.C. that could conduct transactions. 

"The seller even arranged what time they would come to pick up the items. They were articulate. It seemed authentic," Randall said. 

Unfortunately the store owner had fallen victim to an elaborate ruse.

"When I filled in my bank information to deposit the funds, a short time later I received a notice that my account had sent two transfers to a new contact, totalling $5,000. I never sent that money. Somehow my information was stolen and my account compromised," he said. "I quickly changed my account password and called my bank, Coastal Community Credit Union. They froze my accounts and assigned their fraud team to investigate. I also filed an RCMP report."

Randall said he was assured by a customer service representative that he would be contacted, but also advised him that there was no guarantee his funds would be reimbursed.

"Five thousand dollars is a huge amount for my business," he said. 

Allyson Prescesky, Coastal Community Credit Union associate vice-president of community impact and corporate communications, said in an e-mail that more Canadians overall are experiencing fraud attempts, and fraud attempts on credit union members happen regularly.

"We investigate the circumstances of each individual scenario and communicate with the member, usually the same business day, advising them of immediate next steps, such as online access shut down, computer cleaning, and recovery attempts," she said. 

"Whether a member will receive reimbursement for money lost to a scam varies from case to case, as each situation is unique. The timeline for investigations and attempts to recover funds also varies for the same reason. We provide the member with updates as soon as they are available, and our aim is to expedite solutions as much as possible so we can minimize impacts to our members."

About half the money stolen was earmarked as a donation for a community mural art project that Randall said he is still committed to. 

"Each year I have an overstock sale in the alley beside my store," he said. "This summer, after quickly raising enough money for my new store sign, I committed to donate the rest of the funds earned from those item sales to paint a mural welcoming folks to the neighbourhood." 

Randall despaired he would ever recover his money. 

"I was foolish to click the link, but it seemed so legitimate and I never sent anyone any money," he said.

Reserve Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson, cautions anyone carrying out transactions online to be extremely cautious. In Randall's case, he said it's likely the link he clicked on contained malware that allowed access to his computer.

"Never click on a link if you don't know who it's from and, even if you do know who it's from, be very leery," O'Brien said.

He said with any e-transfer arising from a sale over social media, buyers and sellers must be extremely careful and investigate, as best they can, the legitimacy of the other party. 

"You have to see if the person's legit," he said. "Go to their Facebook site. Is it recently created? Do they have any friends? How many friends do they have and is there anybody you can reach out to? Do you have any mutual friends? Have they made any sales before? Have people done ratings on these individuals? If there are any flags at all, do not do [e-transfer] and accept only cash, if possible."

Randall contacted the B次元官网网址 Bulletin on Thursday, Nov. 14, to say Coastal Community Credit Union's fraud team had recovered his money, which he said was a relief.

He's sold and bought hundreds of items on Facebook Marketplace for himself and on behalf of his business and this was the only time he's been scammed, but he wants the public to be aware, so others don't fall victim to it.

 "I see [Facebook Marketplace] as a necessary evil. Everyone is on there. Everyone is buying and selling. It's a competitive space, even in the industry of stereo," he said. "I just hope that people are as cautious and vigilant as they can be. If a link is ever sent, don't follow it. E-mail is probably a more reliable form, but even there you have to be so cautious with what you share."