A DAUGHTER says $15,000 was fraudulently taken from her elderly mother’s bank account.
Laurie Johnson said her 81-year-old mother received a code before the money disappeared from her funds at the Bank of Montreal.
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She explained that her mother received a call from someone who claimed to be a BMO employee, according to TVC News.
Johnson said her mother received a unique code on her device and transmitted it to the person on the phone.
The caller was allegedly a scammer and $15,000 later disappeared from the 81-year-old’s account.
The money was transferred from your Canadian bank to another in Bangladesh on October 13, 2023.
“She never did, and I never did, a global money transfer,” said the daughter.
Johnson questioned the bank’s security measures and its reaction.
“Wouldn’t they flag this and make a call or would they just stop and try to find out if this was in fact done by the customer?” she asked.
“It seems like it’s very easy for this to happen.”
Johnson said he has been trying to get the money back for months, acting as power of attorney for his mother.
The daughter claimed she was upset with BMO’s response to her complaint.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” she said.
“She has been a Bank of Montreal customer for 60 years and so have I.
“You would think that with all the profits they report, they would be able to help 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 calls per month. What are the numbers regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters
- In 2022, Americans lost an estimated $39.5 billion to phone fraud, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
- The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a huge increase from the figure of $182 per victim in 2021, according to Hiya.
- Most scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports.
- In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls, with 60% of those robocalls.
- US residents receive an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the real number could be as high as 31 per month.
- Many phone calls from reputable companies can be mistakenly marked as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they are being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
- Never provide personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For example, your bank will never ask for these full details over the phone.
- To reduce spam calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check this list before calling you.
- Downloading third-party apps like Hiya, Nomorobo or Truecaller can help filter annoying spam calls.
- Try not to share your phone number unless necessary, 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 accounts for suspicious transaction activity, to frequently change their password or PIN, and to never disclose passwords and unique passwords. Passwords”
The statement also explained what a normal one-time password message should look like, including the warning that accompanies it.
“In the normal course, when a customer receives a one-time password, it is accompanied by the following disclosure: ‘Please note: This code grants access to your accounts. Calls to request it may be a scam. If called, hang up and call BMO card number.'”
The US Sun has previously reported on other bank customers who have fallen victim to similar scams.
Suni Wan said she lost $49,000 due to an elaborate text message scam.
The US Sun has reached out to the Bank of Montreal for comment.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
