A local chef is warning other restaurants and caterers about a scam targeting their industry in Yellowknife.
Jason Robins, is the executive chef at the Smokehouse and Grill at Gastown, says when talking to others in the restaurant industry he heard of at least a few others who received the same strange request as he did. Robins says as far as he knows, no one has lost money yet – but his company came close.
The scam started out with an email in September requesting 75 handhelds off of the grill’s menu that would be delivered to Covid-19 healthcare workers.
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“The nature of the job was such that it was any caterer worth their salt is going to look at the job like this and say it’s easy money,” said Robins, who said in hindsight, getting an email to deliver sandwiches to healthcare workers months after the public health emergency had been lifted should have been a red flag.
It was also suspicious, he said, that the people emailing would only connect over text or email, telling the chef they had health limitations that prevented them from using the phone.
The scammers told Robins they had hired a driver to deliver the sandwiches, and that he needed to facilitate paying the driver. Robins figured he could add the driver’s fee – $3,000 – to the bill. He didn’t question the large sum, thinking perhaps the handhelds would be driven to nearby communities like Dettah or Behchokǫ̀.
Robins was provided with two credit card…
