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Woman warns of "bank investigator" scam after losing more than $17,000

Woman warns of "bank investigator" scam after losing more than $17,000

By Mounira Magdy

Published: March 12, 2024

A woman from Ontario who worked at Bank of Montreal (BMO) for decades warns others to be aware of the "bank investigator" scam after losing more than $17,000.

Angela Feng, a Scarborough resident, told CTV News Toronto: "They called me and said: this is the security department at BMO, and they knew my name."

Feng said she received a phone call last April from someone claiming there was suspicious activity on her account, and that they wanted her to confirm her bank card number, which she gave him, and they assured her that there were suspicious transactions being made and that they would stop them.

However, as soon as she gave him the bank card number, within an hour, there were three smaller electronic transfers and one electronic transfer worth $14,000. In

Feng said that in total $17,382 was deducted from her account.

Feng added that after receiving the call, she immediately went to the bank branch she deals with and spent about three hours with bank employees reporting what had happened.

She said that BMO refused to return the money to Feng’s account because they said she failed to protect her banking information and gave the scammers a passcode.

A BMO spokesperson told CTV News Toronto in a statement: "This is an unfortunate situation, and we have been in contact with our customers to provide an update on our review."

"When a customer requests a one-time password (OTP), it is accompanied by the following disclosure: 'Warning: this code provides access to your accounts.' Calls requesting this may be a scam. The bank said: 'If you are contacted, hang up and call the number # on your BMO card.'"

Feng was an employee at BMO for 40 years and hoped to recover her money. She raised her case to the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBSI), but in a review of her case, OBSI sided with BMO and said she was not entitled to compensation because she compromised her bank account.

The bank investigator scam also occurred in Ottawa where there are more victims.

Feng said: "I don't think they are fair to me; I worked at the bank for 40 years."

For his part, Claudio Buba, a cybersecurity expert, said the reputation of banks is tarnished because of the way they handle customers who fall victim to fraud.

Buba added: "What is clear to me is that there is a need for reform in the way banks deal with these different types of fraud."

Buba also said he feels banks should do more to protect their customers, "Customers should have the right to automatic reimbursement if they report the fraud on the same day."

Feng said she went to her branch within one hour of receiving the scam call and still feels she deserves to recover her money, pointing out that her husband suffers from serious health problems and she needs the money to care for him.

Feng said, "I am not giving up because there is a lot of money. I don't want to lie down and pretend to be dead; I want them to give me back my money."

Buba said you should be suspicious of any phone call if the person says they are with the bank you deal with, the police, or the tax department. Never give out your personal information, hang up and call back using a number you find yourself.

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