Fraud is happening at a pace that is difficult to keep up with, so staying informed and being vigilant is your best defense. Fraudsters never take a break, not even for a pandemic. Whether the fraud happens at home or at work, you can still be a victim.

The university has been targeted with numerous phishing type incidents, including impersonation of employees via email and text, in an effort to get another employee to do something for them. In more recent cases, it has been to buy gift cards on the fraudster’s behalf. Unfortunately, some of these attempts were successful. The level of sophistication of these types of requests is increasing.

When email is being used to conduct MacEwan business, as a general principle it should be conducted using MacEwan email accounts. Because we must authenticate to log into our email online or on our computers, there is a less likely chance that a request form a MacEwan email account is fraudulent. If someone requests anything suspicious or unusual in the future, ask them to send the email from their MacEwan account to confirm.

All frauds related to MacEwan University business need to be reported to Internal Audit Services as per the Fraud and Irregularities policy. We may not lead the investigation but must be informed.

Please read this year’s bulletin with the steps to follow if you have been a victim of fraud either at home or at work. Click here for more information.

Have questions? Contact information:

Lisa Vallée, Internal Auditor: valleel@macewan.ca

Barry Horan, Associate Vice President Internal Audit and Risk Management: horanb2@macewan.ca

From Internal Audit Services