By paNOW Staff

Overpayment scam targets Sask. childcare providers

Dec 24, 2014 | 2:16 PM

The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority (FCAA) is warning about a potential scam aimed at child-care providers.

In two cases, day cares posted advertisements for open spaces.

They received an email from someone claiming to be outside the country, who wanted the daycare to save spot for their child in exchange for a deposit cheque.

When the cheque arrived, however, it was for much more than required.

When the child care providers brought the discrepancy to the attention of the emailer, they were asked to cash the cheque and wire the extra money back.

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The day cares however, soon learned the cheques were fake.

Both cases were reported to police and neither daycare lost any money.

The FCAA said overpayment scams are common and have been used to victimize a number of service providers including landlords.

Anyone who suspects fraud should contact police, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or the Competition Bureau.  The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has more information about overpayment scams and protection measures on their website.

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