“We are talking about customers being forced to pay interest on money stolen from their line of credit,” denounces Aselin Weng, who says she was stolen $15,000 from her Bank of Montreal (BMO) account, and who is preparing a collective action as a group to recover the lost $1 million.
“BMO could have notified me before withdrawing $15,000 from my checking account,” laments the Newspaper Aselin Weng, a Quebec family doctor, who saw this money evaporate in the blink of an eye from her account after a questionable transaction on Marketplace.
“I found it so unsafe. If I had been with another bank, I would probably have been able to stop this payment,” she sighs.
Last April, Aselin Weng listed items on Marketplace because she wanted to get rid of some furniture during a move, but quickly realized that a buyer who required a deposit looked suspicious. .
Horror stories
What shocks her is that with her BMO credit card, she was immediately able to block a fraudulent transaction of $8,000, but that the thief subsequently managed to steal $15,000 from her BMO checking account without that she was informed in the slightest according to her.
In recent weeks, BMO customers have been hearing horror stories of emptied accounts. This is why the group of which Aselin Weng is a part plans to soon file a class action to recover the money that would have been lost.
Last week, The newspaper told the story of Mahdi Machani, an engineer, who said he had $12,000 stolen from his account after his phone was stolen at his 40th birthday party in Chile in January.
On Friday, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) did not respond to questions from Newspaper.
–With the collaboration of Philippe Langlois
The group which is preparing a collective action invites those who consider themselves to be victims to contact it at the following email address: [email protected]
He was robbed of $10,000: “I had to sell my boat”
“I had to sell my boat because they came to take money from my line of credit,” confides Éric Corbeil, a BMO client, who claims to have been taken from nearly $10,000 of his money. account. “I was at work. I received an alert saying that my balance was down to -$1500. I said to myself: “Well see, it’s impossible”,” he continues. Since mid-November, Éric Corbeil has been going through a real ordeal. He maintains that he never withdrew this money, which would have mysteriously disappeared. He filed a complaint with the Repentigny police and even provided security camera videos of his work to the person responsible for the file to prove to the BMO that he had nothing to do with these withdrawals. His partner’s employer went so far as to write a letter to prove that she was working at the time of the theft. Nothing works. $10,000 gone.
Éric Corbeil, victim of a theft
Provided by Éric Corbeil
He was robbed of $7,000: “I realized it when paying at Costco”
“My partner had his cell phone stolen. They then managed to use my phone to withdraw $7,000 from my BMO account,” sighs René Sergerie, a retired former nursing professor. Last December, while traveling in Guadalajara, Mexico, a thief managed to steal his partner’s phone, before speeding away on a motorbike. “My boyfriend tried to run to get his phone,” he remembers. Immediately, he and René Sergerie went to the police station to file a complaint. It was only once he returned to Quebec that he realized that the stolen phone had been used to extract more than $7,000 from him. “I was at Costco for a purchase. Everything blocked. Not able to pay. I was very surprised,” he breathes. Since then, BMO has refused to give him the missing money. $7000 gone.
René Sergerie wants to see the color of his money as quickly as possible.
Provided by René Sergerie
$7,500 stolen: “My money is safer under my mattress”
“My money is safer under my mattress than at the BMO,” says Mathieu Roy, owner of an SME, who is celebrating his 118th birthday in Quebec. “They can’t even send us a letter written correctly in French. It’s an English model translated with words with accents that have disappeared,” he says indignantly. Last January, transfers totaling $7,500 were made to the BMO account of Mathieu Roy, who runs his construction equipment business in the Capitale-Nationale. His account was blocked by BMO, but the thieves had time to take several installments of $3,000 by digging into his assets. We would also refuse to reimburse him on the pretext that he is responsible for these transfers of funds. $7500 gone.
Mathieu Roy can’t believe he has had to chase his own money for weeks.
Provided by Mathieu Roy
The newspaper reproduces here in full the response from the Bank of Montreal (BMO)
“Fraud perpetrated against consumers through scams resulting in the compromise of their personal devices is increasingly common in Canada.
We understand that this is an extremely difficult situation for any victim of this type of scam.
Our priority is to help our customers and fully support the police investigation to capture the criminals responsible for these scams and recover customer funds. We are always willing to consider our clients’ special cases. If you can put us in touch with customers who have fallen victim to these scams, we would appreciate it.
It is important to note that a banking transaction can only be completed if a private and confidential password is provided. The only person who knows the password is the customer, which is why it is absolutely essential that customers diligently protect their passwords and private codes from criminals. Cases of scams of this type are increasing in advanced economies like Canada and affect all sectors of activity. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center collects information on fraud and identity theft and provides information on past and present scams affecting Canadians.
As the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center points out, criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to collect and harvest people’s personal information, and they can also gain access to personal electronic devices, including using malicious links that infect phones and personal computers with malware. That’s why it’s critical for customers to be careful about how they approach people who call or text them claiming to be representatives of their bank or other service provider. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center lists and details many scams currently used by criminals to defraud consumers, and provides resources on how to spot and report them. BMO also offers online resources to help individuals avoid investment scams and protect them from bank identity theft. We encourage customers to diligently protect their online and mobile credentials, sign up for BMO Alert to monitor their account for suspicious transactions, and change their password or PIN frequently. If customers think they are victims of a scam or notice strange activity on their account, they should report it to their bank immediately. We always encourage our customers to contact the police so that we can assist them with their investigation and recovery of funds.