Ontario women speak out about bank phone call scam that cost them more than $60K

Criminals are once again impersonating bank employees claiming to investigate wrongdoing to try and clean out your bank account.

It’s a scam that’s been around for many years.

A “spoofed” phone call that appears to come from your bank says your money is in danger and needs to be moved.

Three Ontario women are speaking out after falling victim to this scam, losing over $67,500 between them as a result.

“They knew my address, they knew my full name, my date of birth, they knew my email and obviously my phone number,” Petra Shim of Port Hope told CTV News.

Shim says she got a phone call from someone claiming to be with her bank. She was told her accounts were in jeopardy and she would have to act fast.

Shim cooperated and within ten hours, she says $45,000 was emptied out of her accounts.

“(My bank) told me they will not be reimbursing me because I approved the transactions,” said Shim.

Similarly, Kristen Ernest of London said she received a phone call from someone claiming to be with the fraud department at her bank.

She says she was told the money from her account was being used for drug trafficking and money laundering.

“(The man on the phone) said any bank accounts you have are at risk,” Ernest told CTV News. “He said I needed to follow his instructions to secure the funds.”

She complied and was scammed out of $13,500.

“It was very upsetting to know that all the money I had in the bank is gone,” said Ernest.

The same thing happened to Raquel Pineda of Toronto.

“The scammer told me we have to deal with this to fix the problem,” she told CTV News.

Pineda said she received a call from someone impersonating a bank employee. After following their instructions, she lost $9,000.

“$9,000 is a lot of money for me because I am only a cleaning lady here in Toronto.”

A fourth victim reached out to CTV News but did not want to be identified because she actually works for a bank. She says she was scammed out of $50,000.

How to protect yourself from phone scams

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), criminals are spoofing phone numbers so it appears as if your bank is calling.

“The victim really thinks they’re helping with the inside job and with what the suspect claims,” said Jeff Horncastle with the CAFC.

To avoid this scam, the CAFC recommends never sharing banking information like usernames, passcodes or account numbers.

They say banks will also never ask you to participate in undercover operations, ask you to lie, keep a secret, or investigate bank employees.

All three victims CTV spoke to say banks must do more to prevent fraud.

“I think there needs to be more accountability from these big banks. You know, the top five,” said Shim.