One woman's story about the damage fraudulent links can do
An Ottawa woman says she believes clicking on a fraudulent link led to her entire bank account being compromised, leaving her out thousands of dollars.
Hope Colton, 25, banks with Scotiabank. She says she first noticed money disappearing around April 9 and 10 and thinks a text message could have been the source.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"It all started with a text I got about a speeding infraction, which isn't out of the ordinary for me, so I quickly paid it off and that is exactly what got me," she told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal on Monday.
"It was a complete account takeover fraud on the app on my phone. They were able to go in and change my information to a separate phone number, so whenever Scotiabank was calling, somebody was saying yes, this is Hope Colton, and continue and go ahead."
She says $4,500 was quickly drained from her account before she could shut it down, and the scammers also apparently deposited fake cheques.
"While the scammers had hold of my account, they deposited two cheques from the Government of Canada that were fraudulent. So, not only that, the bank has come back and they have taken $6,000 out of my account, claiming fraudulent cheques, and they're deeming me liable, saying there was legit activity in between the illegal activity," she explained.
Several transactions were made to a sports betting website, according to screenshots shared with Newstalk 580 CFRA.
The City of Ottawa issued a warning this past weekend about scam texts going around, urging people to pay photo radar tickets by following a link. The City notes that real photo radar tickets are mailed to your home. You will never be texted about a photo radar ticket and any accompanying links are fraudulent.
While dealing with the issue, Colton said she got a call from Scotiabank that also turned out to be fraudulent.
"Somebody from the bank called me on Friday and even my caller ID showed up as Scotiabank Toronto. Come the end of the day, we actually looked up the number because things weren't adding up whenever I was chatting to this gentleman, it wound up being a different scam in itself where somebody was impersonating Scotiabank," she said. "He said he would be calling for me to sign an NDA and I should not be talking to anybody regarding the fraud. My co-worker came in at the end of the day and she noticed that there were a lot of things that seemed inconsistent and she looked up the number on the internet and the number was a scam."
Colton said Scotiabank opened a fraud investigation, but after 10 business days told her she was liable for the breach. She has since taken the case to police.
In a statement, Scotiabank said it could not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.
"We take cases of fraud seriously and encourage clients to be wary of any unsolicited calls, text messages or emails they receive, especially if they are asking for personal information. As an added security measure, clients with ScotiaCard Visa debit cards and Scotiabank Visa credit cards are automatically enrolled in Scotia Fraud Alerts to notify clients immediately about unusual transactions on their account," the bank said.
In the meantime, Colton has had to set up a new bank account to cover costs.
"It has been quite difficult as I do have car payments and my insurance payment that come out of my accounts and all of my accounts have been bouncing with Scotiabank. With my family's help, I had to open up a different account to try and figure out these issues," she said.
"So far, Scotiabank hasn't helped me at all. They've pretty well left me in the dark."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For first time in more than 10 years, child dies of measles in Ontario
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
NEW Pack the macaroni necklace: Lessons on evacuations from a woman who fled one of Canada's worst wildfires
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary as it adapts to Internet age and combats hoaxers
The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, insisting on having the final say in whether the events are worthy of popular devotion.
Wildfires burning across Canada: Communities threatened as flames creep closer
Thousands of residents fled Fort McMurray this week, fearing a repeat of the 2016 wildfire that forced out the entire community and torched more than 2,400 homes.
5 secrets to moving better and preventing avoidable injury
Countless people seek emergency care for back pain, muscle strains and similar injuries resulting from “moving wrong” during mundane, everyday tasks such as bending over to tie shoes, lifting objects or doing household chores.
Zach Bryan and girlfriend Brianna Chickenfry are 'happy and alive' after 'traumatizing' car accident
Zach Bryan and his girlfriend Brianna LaPaglia were involved in a scary car accident earlier this week, according to LaPaglia, who recalled the experience in a candid video posted to her TikTok page earlier this week.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.