A DAUGHTER said $15,000 was fraudulently taken out of her elderly mother’s bank account.
Laurie Johnson said her 81-year-old mother received a code before the money vanished from her Bank of Montreal funds.
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She explained that her mother received a call from someone who claimed to be a BMO employee, according to CTV News.
Johnson said her mother then received a one-time code on her device and relayed it to the person on the phone.
This caller reportedly turned out to be a scammer and $15,000 later vanished out of the 81-year-old’s account.
The money was transferred from her Canadian bank to another in Bangladesh on October 13, 2023.
“She has never, and I have never, done a global money transfer,” the daughter said.
Johnson questioned the bank’s security measures and their reaction.
“Would they not flag that and make a phone call or just stop it and try to find out if that was in fact made by the client?” she asked.
“It just seems like it’s too easy for that to happen.”
Johnson said she has been attempting to get the money back for months now, as her mother’s power of attorney.
The daughter claimed that she was upset with the BMO’s response to her claim.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” she said.
“She has been a customer with the Bank of Montreal for 60 years and I have been as well.
“You would think with all of the profits they report, that they would be able to help out their customers.”
BMO told customers to implement extra security measures on their accounts, according to a statement to CTV News.
Phone scam statistics
Americans are bombarded with three billion spam phone calls a month. What are the figures regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters
- In 2022, Americans lost some $39.5 billion to phone scams, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
- The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a major rise on the 2021 figure of $182 per victim, according to Hiya.
- The majority of scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as reports the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls with 60% of those being robocalls.
- US residents experienced an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the true figure may be as high as 31 per month.
- Many phone calls from reputable businesses may be marked wrongly as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they’re being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
- Never hand over any personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For instance, your bank will never ask you for such details in full over the phone.
- To cut down on spam phone calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check that list before they call you up.
- Downloading third-party apps such as Hiya, Nomorobo, or Truecaller can help filter out annoying spam calls.
- Try not to share your phone number unless you have to, especially online or with sketchy sources.
The bank said it “encourages customers to be diligent in protecting their online and mobile credentials, to sign up for BMO Alerts to monitor their account for suspicious transaction activity, to frequently change their password or PIN and to never disclose passwords and One-Time- Passcodes”
The statement also explained what a usual one-time password message should look like, including the warning it comes with.
“In the normal course, when a customer receives a one-time passcode, it is accompanied by the following disclosure: ‘Warning: this code grants access to your accounts. Calls to request it may be a scam. If called, hang up and call the number on BMO card.'”
The U.S. Sun has previously reported on other bank customer who have fallen victim to similar scams.
Suni Wan said she lost $49,000 due to an elaborate text message scam.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Bank of Montreal for comment.
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