Never before have we had to be so wary of a call from the bank. A wave of fake representative fraud is sweeping Quebec, as noted by a teacher from the South Shore of Montreal from whom Tangerine demands more than $2,200 following such a scam.
• Read also: A serial fraudster will have to repay $80,000
• Read also: BMO bank accounts emptied: “We were robbed of almost a million dollars together”
“I am not an old person. If it can happen to a rigorous and skeptical man like me, it can happen to everyone,” marvels Pascal Bélisle.
The 41-year-old man fell into the trap on January 3. His in-laws, who came to give a gift to their daughter whose birthday it was, are in the door frame when it starts to vibrate in his pocket.
His bank calls him, his phone shows. A woman introduces herself as a Tangerine customer service member and tells him that her credit card has just been used in the United Kingdom.
For 45 minutes, the fake employee of the Scotiabank subsidiary holds her fish on the line. After getting his card number — complete with expiration date and three-digit security code — as well as three six-digit codes that she claims to text him, the line cuts.
It’s 7 p.m. and Pascal Bélisle, who has just hung up, immediately logs into his online account. His card has just been used three times in a German travel agency for a total of $2,226.18, he notes.
It is 7 p.m. when the teacher tries to contact the real Tangerine Bank to report the fraud. “I had money extorted under pressure,” he illustrates.
Heavy mistake ?
In Canada, the consumer cannot be held responsible for amounts misappropriated by fraud from his credit card if he has not committed any serious error in the protection of his banking identifiers.
And if he showed negligence or carelessness, it is up to his financial institution to demonstrate it, specifies the Quebec Consumer Protection Act.
False representative fraud is well known at Option Consommateur. The organization, to which a large number of victims have turned since the beginning of the year, does not believe that Quebecers should pay these amounts.
“Being convinced to give your banking details by a clever and manipulative criminal is not a serious mistake,” says Alexandre Plourde, lawyer within the organization.
Since the broadcast of a report by La bill on this subject on February 27 on Radio-Canada, Option Consommateur has been inundated with calls from people held responsible for this deception by their financial institutions.
“These people should not be considered to have acted wrongly,” laments the lawyer, especially since the victims are mostly elderly and vulnerable people.
Victim ?
However, this is exactly what is happening to Pascal Bélisle. Scotia accuses him of “serious faults” and refuses to reimburse him for his $2,226.18.
The bank came to this conclusion following an investigation by its security department. Her client, she said, gave away her information and failed to honor her contract.
“I have not committed any serious fault. I am the victim of a ploy,” says the teacher from the South Shore.
During his call made at 7 p.m. on January 3, he managed to cancel his card, but not to speak to a security agent. After four hours of waiting and transfers from one department to another, the line was hung up on him at 11 p.m. when customer service closed.
It wasn’t until a fitful night’s sleep later that he managed to speak to the right department for the investigation to begin.
This bad night is like the rest of his misadventure with Tangerine and Scotia. Ultimately, he wasted more than 15 hours on the phone, “where I was transferred to the wrong department, where I wasn’t given all the information, where their phone system malfunctioned.”
He complained about the outcome of the investigation, then it took Tangerine 56 days to respond to him that the decision stood. His complaint then went to the offices of Scotia, which also upheld the decision.
Pascal Bélisle is today short of resources.
Not talking, the bank
The newspaper tried to find out more from Scotiabank, without revealing the identity of the victim, as requested by its communications department.
What security measures are in place at Scotia/Tangerine to counter fake representative fraud? Has the bank informed its customers of its existence? What kind of safety net is in place to identify these fraudulent transactions? How many of his clients have already been victims? Does Scotia have a policy on this?
We received only a terse response. “With the increase in fraud attempts in Canada, we always encourage customers to stay informed about safe banking habits so they can recognize, avoid and report fraud,” it says.