A few containers sit outside Eco Box Containers in Bridgewater, a company exploited by scammers to steal thousands from unknowing customers. Photo: Evan Taylor
Multiple individuals have been tricked by a Kijiji scam that used a real, local businesses to bolster the scams credibility.
Pattianne Hatfield, owner of Eco Box Containers in Bridgewater, knew something suspicious was going on when she received calls from people who claimed to have placed an order with one of her employees.
This was an issue, as Hatfield runs the business entirely by herself.
The scam has resulted in some unwarranted vitriol being directed her way, Hatfield said.
“They were adamant an order had been placed in some cases and some trucks even showed up to try and pick up their orders that didn’t exist,” she said.
The RCMP is now investigating multiple complaints of fraudulent shipping container sales that have left customers empty-handed and out thousands of dollars.
Hatfield began investigating on her own and discovered what she believed to be multiple fraudulent posts advertising cheap shipping containers all over the province.
“Everyone of the posts had been set up with a general address in various business parks around the country,” she said.
She also noticed that the scams tend to use more detail based on what information is available online.
Eco Box Containers was formerly a joint enterprise between Hatfield and her late husband. One of the phone calls she received said they had placed their order with him, but that would have been impossible given the date of his passing.
Since discovering her business had been embroiled in the scam, Hatfield was forced to shut down operations temporarily so she could ensure no one came to take a shipping container they were under the impression they had paid for.
New shipping containers typically cost upwards of $4,000, but the fraudulent posts had them listed well below market value between $1,000-$3,000.
After speaking with some of the victims, Hatfield said many of them claimed they had initially thought the deal was too good to be true. She said when that’s the case, buyers should do some more research to better protect themselves from scams.
As no crime was actually committed against Hatfield or her business, she hasn’t heard back from the RCMP after reporting the issue. However she did acknowledge she was aware of investigations related to the scam being conducted in Cape Breton and New Brunswick.
