Has your bank ever texted you a six-digit security code? Beware of this like the plague.
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“We think this SMS protects us, but it doesn’t at all,” warns fraud expert Simon Marchand.
David Trubiano, 48, knows something. BMO customer was scammed out of $14,360 thanks to this security code.
The bank refuses to reimburse you because it holds you responsible for sharing your six-digit code with a third party.
One fine morning in April, the project manager gets a call from the bank, at least from what appears to be the bank, because the number shown is actually BMO’s.
He is told that he is the victim of fraud, that he must recite the security code just sent to him to confirm his identity.
In fact, David Trubiano is then the victim of “spoofing”, of identity theft.
THE computer hackers pretend to be the bank and need this code.
As soon as they have the victim online, they connect to their online bank account. The text message is sent and the six-digit code is recited. This is.
not sure
All banks say the same thing: they never call a customer to ask for personal information.
But when the customer calls the bank, the bank sends a six-digit code.
“I had to read the code at the bank when I was the one calling,” David Trubiano recalls. It can all quickly become confusing.
“Attention: this code gives access to your accounts. Calls asking for this may be fraudulent. If so, dial the card number. BMO Code: XXXXXX”, we can read in the text message sent.
The Bells and Verizons of this world have been warning banks for a long time, says Simon Marchand: texting is not a safe solution.
In short, the banks have no obligation to reimburse. “It doesn’t make any sense,” says the expert.
London passed a law to force banks to refund defrauded customers. “Justin Trudeau is dragging his feet. If he doesn’t want to legislate, let him give the powers to Quebec,” says the man who was already a Bloc Québécois candidate.
humiliated
Six months after the fraud, David Trubanio still has it in his heart. “It’s humiliating, you feel stupid. They’re insulting, they make us responsible,” he says.
On the morning of April 20, she realized the problem in less than 5 minutes: the fraudsters had transferred $13,000 from her credit card to her checking account before making a transfer of $14,360 to “a stranger.”
“I called them straight away. In less than 5 minutes they knew it wasn’t me, they knew where the money was,” says the father of three.
The bench hasn’t moved. Mr. Trubiano spoke to four different people at the bank and spent the summer asking them to repeat his story.
“Each employee told me that there was no point, that they would refund me. Then, every time, those who decide and who we cannot talk to refused to reimburse,” he says.
He was advised to lodge a complaint with the ombudsman. “Everything takes a long time. They rely on the fact that people will give up, that it will exhaust them”, says Mr. Trubiano
We asked BMO if its policy was not to reimburse victims forgery. The bank could not give a clear answer. She preferred to tell us that “account protection is a partnership between the customer and their bank.”
