Police say fraudsters using Costco envelopes to scam Windsor residents

A Costco envelope Windsor police say has been used in a scam in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday, June 4, 2013. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)

Windsor police say a Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd envelope is being used to try to scam Windsor residents.

The financial crimes branch has been contacted by several Windsorites who received a letter in a Costco envelope.

“It seems that they've stolen a good Costco envelope, scanned it, including the barcode for mailing,” says Const. Mike Akpata. “So Costco is also a victim of fraud because all these letters are going out under their postal number."

The letter indicates that it is from an insurance broker in New Haven Connecticut, according to police. It says an unclaimed insurance policy in $6,970,000 Euros has been found and there is no one to claim it.

The letter says the individual must contact the author in order to begin the process to collect the money.

"You might just call the phone number, you might send an email,” says Akpata. “That's what they're hoping to get, some bit of information so they can start down the road to stealing your identity."

Officers say both the letter and the offer are fraudulent. Windsor police have contacted Costco Canada senior management about the letters. Officials say Costco is not involved in this mailing, nor have they participated in the process.

It appears that Costco may also been defrauded of the postage on the letters, which have popped up in Ottawa, the greater Toronto area, and Windsor.

Police say the scammers have used a well-known corporate logo to attempt to try to assist them in this fraud.