The City of Cambridge warns of scammers impersonating Holiday Market staff
The City of Cambridge is alerting residents to a phishing scam involving individuals falsely claiming to represent the City’s Cambridge Holiday Market.
Scammers have contacted small business owners via email, asking them to apply to be part of Winterfest’s Holiday Market with a link to a fake application. The email uses details about the event to dupe the recipient into sending money.
The City of Cambridge would never use unofficial channels to contact residents. The only way to apply to be part of the Cambridge Holiday Market is to use the link listed on the City’s website.
City staff have contacted Waterloo Region Police Services (WRPS) to alert them to this scam, and to prevent community members from being taken advantage of.
If you receive an unsolicited communication from someone claiming to be a City staff member, take the following steps to verify the message’s legitimacy:
- Review the sender’s email address – the City of Cambridge does not use Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, or other web-based email services for communication
- If you are unsure that the message is legitimate contact ServiceCambridge@cambridge.ca to verify
- Report suspected phishing attempts that use City information to ServiceCambridge@cambridge.ca
If you are the victim of a scam, contact the police non-emergency line at 519-570-9777 or use WRPS’ online reporting form.
To learn more about protecting yourself from scams, visit WRPS’ website.
