05/14/2024
šØ Attention Small Business Owners! Beware of Scam! šØ
Hey everyone,
Despite my hesitation and embarrassment, I wanted to share a recent experience I had that serves as a cautionary tale for fellow small business owners like myself.
I recently took a plunge starting my own business as a mobile Heavy Duty Mechanic. With over 18 years of experience, it's been a dream of mine for a long time. I had made ads on both Kijiji and started a website to get the word out there. Well, recently, I was contacted by someone named āJared Stevensonā who saw my ad on Kijiji. He claimed to be an Oilfield Business owner (Stevens Oilfield Services) operating in the area. He said he was also a HD mechanic and unable to keep up with his workload while running his equipment and was interested in hiring my mobile mechanic services. He was very charismatic and knew a lot about the industry, so there were no red flags when he called; we chatted for a half hour, and he offered me a job that could lead to long-term work. He said I needed all the usual safety tickets: H2S, First Aid, CSO, TDG, WHMIS, etc. And that he could get them for me through a friend who does safety courses. I told him I had them, and he was pleased saying I would start Monday morning. Itās worth noting that at one point during the phone call, he had a CV radio conversation in the background with another guy, which led me to believe he was on-site at work, making it all the more believable. The next morning (Saturday) he called back asking if I could use his service truck instead for the time being because it has a hose press on it. He said pay would be the same, he would have a fuel card for me, and Iād travel to and from the site daily. Although I preferred to use my fully equipped service truck, I didnāt have the hose press, and I hadnāt found work that week (I could definitely use the work), so I agreed. He also said there had been a change of plans because of the fires in the area, and heād need me to be up where he was recently awarded a contract by the government to cut a fire line. This is where it went sideways; He claimed I needed a fire suppression ticket but not to worry because his friend āMarc Davidson,ā could do the course for me for $120. Great. Later Marc texted me, introduced himself, said he was at work at the time, so he couldnāt chat on the phone and said he would go ahead and certify me āas a favourā (even though I didnāt ask for one) since I wouldnāt be fighting fires anyway. He said to send him 140 then at least he makes $20 out of the deal. I know it wasnāt right, but I was eager to get to work, so I sent him the money. He said I was set for Monday morning. An hour later, I got a phone call from an unknown number, and it was Jared saying his secretary āJanetā had emailed me, but she wasnāt receiving any reply. He said he was at home on his landline, and there was no cell service where he lives, and he would be taking the rest of the day off, so I wouldnāt be able to get a hold of him. He also said not to stress over Janet because she's just a miserable and pushy lady. I told him no problem and told him to enjoy his day offā¦ The email ended up being in my junk folder from [email protected], a different business name than originally said. It was a poorly written email saying she received an H2S ticket from Marc and that I needed a Fire suppression ticket! Through the poor grammar, āJanet Kurlleā tried to make it seem very urgent that I get the correct ticket done. How convenient āJaredā was unreachable. Like clockwork, Marc then texted saying he got a pushy email from Janet too and that he accidentally put in for an H2S ticket and that for another 140, heād get the right ticket sent ASAP so I could start work on Monday. Thankfully, at this point, I caught on to what was happening before it was too late and I lost even more money. I texted āMarcā that Jared would take care of it when he gets back to work. I didnāt email the Janet lady back who has the grammar of a grade one student and Jared or Marc hasnāt answered the phone or texted back again. This was definitely a wake-up call!
I believe all the names were fake, including the Business, and it was likely a two-person operation.
Hereās the numbers they were phoning and texting from;
Jared: 250-six1seven-four66eight
Marc: 306-nine nine 4- five 1 five 8
I'm sharing this experience to raise awareness and remind my fellow business owners to stay vigilant and protect yourselves from similar scams. Let's look out for each other and keep our communities safe from scammers trying to make money off hard-working people's backs. The economy is hard enough; Iām just trying to keep a roof over my family's heads, and then scammers come along and take advantage of our drive to work. I'd hate for this scam to happen to anyone else, especially if you needed all 5 or more tickets it would get expensive fast.
Stay safe
