‘I’m the victim,’ fumes bank customer who found $16k missing from account – they cleared the check but then made her pay | YL4QXDC | 2024-05-04 05:08:01
'I'm the victim,' fumes bank customer who found $16k missing from account – they cleared the check but then made her pay | YL4QXDC | 2024-05-04 05:08:01
AN elderly TD Canada Trust banking customer has fallen victim to a marketing scam, losing thousands to fraudsters.
Leslie Milligan, 82, had to cough up her own money after her bank cleared a fake check.
Milligan, a resident of Toronto, was targeted by scammers in 2015 when they falsely made her believe she had won $1.6 million from the lottery, Global News reported.
As part of the scam, Milligan was sent a check for $16,482.68, which she deposited into her bank account.
Milligan was then told to send part of the money to an address and keep the balance.
She followed the instructions, first waiting for the check to clear with her bank, which it did.
The scammers informed Milligan the lottery winnings would later be deposited into her account, which did not happen.
After TD Canada Trust sent the money to the scammers under Milligan's instruction, the bank later declared the original check a counterfeit.
The bank held Milligan responsible for the missing funds and froze her account, despite initially clearing the counterfeit check.
"I'm the victim here, why are they asking me to pay it?" Milligan told Global News.
Milligan's lawyer friend reported the fraud to the police and requested that the bank not penalize Milligan, which it refused.
"If they can do this to me, they can do this to anybody," said Milligan, attributing her subsequent heart attack to the situation.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> "They took every dime she had. They didn't care. Who does that?" said Kim MacIntyre, Milligan's next-door neighbor.
"We are sympathetic to Ms. Milligan and her situation and we were in contact with her on several occasions in response to her concerns," Ana Aujla, manager of corporate and public affairs with 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 also explained that a check cleared by the bank can become a consumer's liability later.
"Clearing a check is the process for moving funds from one financial institution to another, not for verifying the authenticity of the check," she said.
"It is important for customers to know who they are doing business with and to verify that a check is legitimate before they release funds from their own accounts.
"The Canadian Payments Association allows a maximum hold of five days, however, a check can come back as fraudulent at any time."
<p class="article__content--intro"> As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam: </p> </div> </div> REFUNDED
Three days after the Global News report on Milligan's situation was published in 2016, TD Canada Trust refunded her the money.
"Following further review, we are in contact with Ms. Milligan and will be issuing a reimbursement as a gesture of goodwill given that she misunderstood the clearing process," said the bank.
"We appreciate the opportunity to further educate consumers on this topic."
The bank put $11,425.52 into her account and forgave another $5,057.16 it had been pursuing through collection proceedings.
However, TD Canada Trust refused to pay interest on the money drained from her account – likely less than $100.
More >> https://ift.tt/fQ4egyx Source: MAG NEWS
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