Peter Squire never imagined what it would be like to lose his retirement savings of more than $600,000 to a fraudster. Peter Squire never imagined what it would be like to lose his retirement savings of more than $600,000 to a fraudster.
After looking up the caller's name and finding it did match a senior investment counsellor with BMO, Squire decided to do business with him."This is how these people exploit seniors or other Canadians and dupe them out of their money. The first transfer was $175,000 and the second one a few days later was $473,290.08, for a total of more than $648,000.
An RCMP Ontario spokesperson told CBC they can't provide information because they generally don't confirm or deny an investigation is happening unless criminal charges are laid."Our Hong Kong liaison officer was requested to liaise with WPS to provide information to the Hong Kong Police as it looks like this is where the money may have been sent to. File was then closed as the assistance was no longer required.
Squire thinks Access Credit Union staff didn't do enough due diligence or ask enough questions when he was sending large wire transfers — something he had not done before. "We also understand that we cannot present barriers to members who are intent on making a decision with their funds. Our intention is to make banking easier for members while respecting their decision making, ensuring that they are informed and protected with our expertise."
"I believe there should be an obligation on financial institutions to be more diligent on withdrawals that are outside the norm," Lamoureux told CBC.Vanessa Iafolla, a principal at Anti-fraud Intelligence Consulting in Halifax who helps fraud victims and is an expert witness in civil litigation for such cases, said credit unions and banks have an obligation to help clients avoid investment fraud.