Greater Sudbury Police recommend citizens not fill out a job application form on a website that claims to be for a mining company called Red Maple Mining Co.
“We were alerted about this possible scam from a concerned citizen,” said Greater Sudbury Police Sgt. Wade Maksymchuk.
The alleged mining company had a job ad on the Sudbury Kijiji website apparently seeking employees.
But Maksymchuk said a person alerted police the contact email attached to the ad was not functioning. Messages sent to the address were returned as undeliverable.
“The public did a little of the legwork for us,” Maksymchuk said. “They alerted Kijiji, and apparently Kijiji took it down.”
But a website, also purported to be for a mining company called Red Maple Mining Co., has a job application section that asks potential applicants to provide their social insurance number, driver licence number and their credit card information.
“Red Maple Mining Company requires a background check and a drivers abstract check,” the website says. “The cost for this is $9.95. Please provide you payment information to cover this fee.”
The web page is not encrypted, which means anyone connected to the same network hosting the website would be able to read any personal information provided as plain text.
In the “About Us” section of its website Red Maple Mining Co. claims to have an open pit operation in Sudbury producing copper and platinum group metals.
“Red Maple Mining Co. Is [sic] striving to become mid-tier mining company with stable and sustainable revenue attained through acquisition, discovery, development, and production of various metals,” the website says.
“We will achieve this by improving on our current assets and the strengths and capabilities we have demonstrated by out recent successes in developing and and operating our newest open pit, as well as our ongoing partner-funded exploration ventures.”
The section also has several spelling mistakes.
According to a web domain registration search, the website was registered on Feb. 16, 2016, yet the company claims to have “approximately 2,500 employees” worldwide.
The registrant is listed as John Smith, and the address included in the registration form is a residential apartment on Toronto's Broadview Avenue.
NorthernLife.ca called a phone number included on the web domain registration form and received an automated message that it was not in service.
Dick DeStefano, executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) said he had never of Red Maple Mining Co. until allegations of online fraud first started to appear Tuesday.
