‘I’m the victim’, angers bank customer who discovered that US$16,000 was missing from her account – they cleared the check but forced her to pay

AN elderly TD Canada Trust bank customer fell victim to a marketing scam, losing thousands to fraudsters.

Leslie Milligan, 82, had to fork out her own money after her bank cleared a fake check.

Milligan, a Toronto resident, was targeted by scammers in 2015 when they falsely made her believe she had won $1.6 million in the lottery. Global News reported.

As part of the scam, Milligan received a check for $16,482.68, which she deposited into her bank account.

Milligan was then told to send some of the money to an address and keep the balance.

She followed the instructions, first waiting for the check to clear at her bank, which it did.

The scammers informed Milligan that the lottery winnings would later be deposited into his account, which did not happen.

After TD Canada Trust sent the money to the scammers on Milligan’s instructions, the bank later declared the original check a forgery.

The bank held Milligan responsible for the lost funds and froze his account, despite initially clearing the forged check.

“I’m the victim here, why are they asking me to pay?” Milligan told Global News.

Milligan’s lawyer friend reported the fraud to the police and requested that the bank not penalize Milligan, which Milligan refused.

“If they can do that to me, they can do that to anyone,” Milligan said, attributing his subsequent heart attack to the situation.

“They took every penny she had. They didn’t care. Who does this?” said Kim MacIntyre, Milligan’s neighbor.

“We are sympathetic to Ms. Milligan and her situation and have reached out to her on several occasions in response to her concerns,” Ana Aujla, corporate and public affairs manager at TD Bank Group, told Global News.

“It is important for customers to be aware, know who they are doing business with and ask questions if they are unsure in order to protect their financial well-being.”

She further explained that a check cleared by the bank may later become the consumer’s responsibility.

“Clearing a check is the process of transferring funds from one financial institution to another, not verifying the authenticity of the check,” she said.

“It is important that customers know who they are doing business with and verify that a check is legitimate before releasing funds from their own accounts.

“The Canadian Payments Association allows a maximum hold of five days, however a check can be considered fraudulent at any time.”

Top tips to avoid bank scams

As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important that you know how to identify them:

• Be skeptical of online businesses that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
• Scammers often use tactics to make you panic so that you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are asked to take immediate action and check who has contacted you.
• Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
• Never send money to someone you’ve only spoken to online or on the phone, as this is likely a romantic scam.
• Unless you know 100% who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
• Never accept help from strangers at ATMs and always be careful when making withdrawals.
• Do not send money or click on links that indicate you have won a prize.

Source: Chase.com

RETURNED

Three days after Global News’ report on Milligan’s situation was published in 2016, TD Canada Trust returned his money.

“Following further review, we are in contact with Ms. Milligan and will issue a refund as a gesture of goodwill, as she misunderstood the compensation process,” the bank said.

“We appreciate the opportunity to further educate consumers on this topic.”

The bank placed $11,425.52 in his account and forgave another $5,057.16 that it had been processing in the collection process.

However, TD Canada Trust refused to pay interest on the money taken from its account – likely less than $100.