Full of Beans Coffee House gets outpouring of support after scam
One Toronto coffee shop recently received an outpouring of support from the local community after its owner lost hundreds of dollars through a scam that’s known to target small businesses.
Full of Beans Coffee House and Roastery, located at 1348 Dundas Street W in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighbourhood, is a cozy coffee house known for its espresso and locally roasted beans.
The micro-roastery’s owner, Lori Nytko, recently launched a GoFundMe campaign for the business after it was the target of a Toronto Hydro scam.
“Full of Beans is experiencing hard times right now. Business is slower. Things need fixing. Things need replacing. On November 29, full of beans was set back further,” Nytko wrote.
According to the campaign, the business received a call saying that they had a work order to cut the store’s power that day. While the coffee shop did receive a disconnection notice, the date was for December 5.
Despite this, the caller said that this didn’t matter, and told Nytko that they would be paying a visit that day unless the full balance was paid.
“I was able to talk them down to $750 and said I’d pay immediately through online banking. The caller said that payment through online banking won’t get posted for a day or two, so I had to pay via e-transfer. Nervous and scared of being shut down, that’s what I did,” the owner wrote.
On December 11, Toronto Hydro visited the coffee shop to follow up on the disconnection notice. As a joke, Nytko told the worker, “That $750 didn’t go very far,” to which the worker asked what $750 she was referring to.
“I showed him my record of payment, reference number, case number, everything. He just looked at me quietly. Looking back at him, I sadly asked, ‘Are you telling me I got scammed?'” Nytko wrote.
The worker responded, “Yes ma’am. I’m afraid you were.”
During National Fraud Prevention Month in March, Toronto Hydro shared information on how customers can protect themselves and their businesses from falling victim to fraud.
Although the number of fraud cases reported to Toronto Hydro was significantly lower in 2022 than the previous year, the total amount paid to scammers increased.
According to the corporation, scammers mostly targeted small businesses in the restaurant and grocery industry by threatening immediate disconnection. This made up 60% of the total payments to scammers in 2022.
This is what to do if you receive a suspicious call from Toronto Hydro https://t.co/6IY99XqFPd #Toronto #TorontoHydro
— blogTO (@blogTO) March 18, 2021
Scammers are known to impersonate local utilities by sending threatening phone calls, texts and emails, or showing up in person at a customer’s home or business to request personal information.
Toronto Hydro says these requests may include pressure for immediate payment, threats to disconnect service the same day, and even demands to purchase prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or cryptocurrency.
“The year, in general, has been tough. And not just for me — businesses everywhere are having a hard time. You see the number of places closing. I can’t count the number of times I haven’t paid myself this year,” Nytko told blogTO.
“My landlord has been patient. But of course, December rent is delayed too.”
After sharing the business’ experience on GoFundMe, the local community quickly poured in to help the coffee shop get back on its feet. Through over 50 donations, loyal patrons have managed to raise $2,300, surpassing the campaign’s initial goal of $2,000.
“It shows what I’ve believed for some time now — this is one of the best neighbourhoods around, and I’m lucky for the community that I’m part of — business and personal. It’s important for people to know that this can happen to anyone,” Nytko told blogTO.
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