BMO disclaims liability for a series of scams involving a 66-year-old Rawdon woman last fall that totaled $30,000.
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“My mother can’t sleep at night, she’s very emotional and that’s why I’m talking to you,” says her son Patrick Belley. It’s his retirement plan! »
On September 28, Diane Bertrand discovered that unbeknownst to her, two wire transfers of $10,000 each, a week apart, had been made to an unknown recipient: Ilaria Molisso. The global transfer functionality was used. It has been offered by BMO since 2021 to facilitate international mobile money transfers.
Angered, Ms Bertrand called BMO and went to a branch where her bank card and credit card were destroyed. He was given a new debit card.
“The bank clerk told him that only deposits and no withdrawals were possible until further notice,” says his son, who takes over the property management for his mother.
However, on Oct. 4, a third transfer was made in euros, worth $9,995, to another total stranger, Alessia D’Imperio.
“How could we let a third $10,000 transaction happen without doing anything? Our money is not protected at all! says Patrick Belley indignantly.
Shock and dashed hopes
Shocked to learn of the affair the next day, Ms Bertrand returned to BMO, where she was reportedly given another new debit card. She was also asked to run a virus scan on her phone, which she did.
She also filed a complaint with the police and transferred the money she left to Desjardins.
Just before Christmas, BMO’s Complaint Review Office denied Ms. Bertrand’s request for a refund, offering only a credit for the $63.24 bill incurred for cell phone analysis. In its rejection letter, BMO writes that the customer “contributed to the unauthorized use of her account by failing to protect her debit card and secret identification codes.”
Obsolete means of protection
The letter also shows that the customer did not immediately change her passwords as required and used the disposable codes sent to her via SMS for the transactions.
“One-time codes can be sent to a scammer if a phone is compromised. This is an obsolete method! Security experts have been telling banks not to use it for at least a decade,” responds Simon Marchand, fraud prevention expert at Geocomply.
He adds that changing a card’s password via a compromised device would not have protected the victim. The expert believes that banks have a responsibility to protect their customers, including from themselves. Even more so when it comes to vulnerable clientele who are not necessarily familiar with technology.
“We know a person has been the victim of fraud, we are taking action to destroy cards and these are large amounts, so why didn’t we just call the customer to confirm she took part in the deal? asks the expert, for whom banks also need to invest in voice or behavioral biometrics to increase customer security.
At BMO we cannot comment on any specific situation due to confidentiality reasons, but we say that protecting customers is a priority and every case is taken seriously.
“Account protection is always a partnership between customers and their bank. Customers are responsible for protecting their bank account information, online and mobile login credentials, and changing their passwords frequently,” the institution wrote.
In November, Le Journal uncovered further cases of wire transfer fraud at BMO, for which the institute refused to refund. Some of them have since been reimbursed.
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