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TD Bank holds customer responsible for $15K loss, won’t say how account hacking ruled out
TD Bank says Nova Scotia customer Shakir Ahamed is on the hook for $15K in fraudulent transfers, even though he says he was the victim of an account takeover. A cybersecurity expert says banks are increasingly blaming customers for fraud.
TD Bank is holding a Dartmouth, N.S., man responsible for nearly $15,000 transferred out of his account — but it won’t explain how it determined the account wasn’t hacked.
Shakir Ahamed says he was at work last July, handling payroll for the Canadian Coast Guard in the Maritimes, when he received a text from TD warning that he was approaching the limit on his line of credit.
“I’m panicking,” said Ahamed, who says he hadn’t touched his line of credit and immediately knew something was wrong. “Kind of like a heart attack.”
He drove straight to his local TD branch and learned that a series of unauthorized “accept request” e-transfers had been made over several days, leaving him nearly $15,000 in debt.
“These are clearly fraud transactions,” Ahamed said he remembers saying to himself. “We trust the bank. If anything happens, the bank will reimburse me. That was my first thought.”
He contacted TD’s fraud department and filed a report with Halifax Regional Police. A few weeks later, TD sent Ahamed a text message saying he was responsible for the loss.
When he appealed, the bank said the transactions were conducted using Ahamed’s IP (Internet Protocol) address and that one-time passcodes had been entered.
Ahamed says he should have received 10 passcodes but never got any on his phone or by email. He says he learned of the transactions eight days after they began.
Ahamed took his case to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), but it did not recommend compensation, saying his sign-in credentials were used.
Go Public asked TD how it ruled out IP hijacking, malware, account takeover or other forms of cyber compromise before concluding Ahamed was responsible for the transactions.
The bank declined an interview request but said it confirmed that one-time passcodes were sent to Ahamed’s phone and that his regular device was used to complete the transactions.
In a written statement, Ashleigh Murphy, TD’s senior manager of corporate and public affairs, said the bank understands that “situations involving suspected fraud can be stressful and concerning for clients” and that TD has “multiple layers of security, monitoring and customer education in place.”
Cybersecurity expert Claudiu Popa says TD has not demonstrated that Ahamed was negligent.
“No evidence of negligence was provided by the banking institution,” said Popa, author of The Canadian Cyberfraud Handbook, a highly regarded corporate reference book on digital fraud. “And I don’t know why that is, because if I were the bank, that’s the first thing I would show.”
Popa says, financial institutions are increasingly denying reimbursement claims while providing little evidence that customers were responsible.
Read more from Go Public’s Erica Johnson and Ana Komnenic.
Dealership revoked offer to buy back customer’s BMW, blaming wayward AI chatbot
Zack Giacomelli says he was shocked when a Toronto dealership revoked an offer to buy back his 2021 BMW, explaining that the company’s chatbot made a mistake. As Canadian businesses rush to adopt AI tools, experts say they need to be aware of the legal risks.
After his 2021 BMW required major repairs, Zack Giacomelli decided last month he wanted to sell it back to BMW Toronto — the same dealership where he bought the used car in 2023.
At first, the buyback process seemed easy. After submitting an online inquiry, Giacomelli got a text from Quinn at BMW Toronto, who was eager to help.
Quinn expressed sympathy for Giacomelli’s car troubles and asked questions about the vehicle, which was still being repaired at the dealership. Later in the same text conversation, Quinn made a firm buy-back offer: $27,162.79.
Giacomelli, a 31-year-old funeral director, was satisfied because the offer was just enough to cover what he still owed on the car.
“I felt this Quinn person was finally hearing me out,” he said. “I was feeling really good.”
The good feeling didn’t last. Moments later, Giacomelli said, a BMW Toronto sales consultant called to revoke the offer, explaining that Quinn wasn’t a real person but an artificial intelligence chatbot that had made the offer in error.
“He said the offer is not valid,” recalled Giacomelli. “I was shocked, I was astounded, like my jaw was on the floor.”
He said his shock turned to anger when the dealership informed him the actual buyback offer would be, at best, $20,000 — $7,000 less than what Quinn had promised.
“I was devastated,” said Giacomelli. “If they’re going to be replacing their employees’ jobs with AI, then they need to be honouring what that AI says.”
After CBC News reached out to BMW Toronto, it reinstated Quinn’s original offer of $27,162.79.
Shadbolt said that, due to miscommunication from a human employee, Quinn misinterpreted the amount Giacomelli owed on the car — $27,162.79 — as the amount BMW would pay to buy back the vehicle.
“The AI bot ran with that, misunderstood the message,” he said.
As Canadian businesses rush to adopt artificial intelligence tools, they face a growing risk of customer backlash — even legal action — if those tools make mistakes.
Read more from the CBC’s Sophia Harris.
Carney’s new $3.2B strategy aims to boost access to local, affordable food
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new $3-billion national food security strategy to combat issues in the Canadian food system in Toronto on Thursday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a new food security strategy Thursday that commits $3.2 billion over a decade to produce more food in Canada and make it more affordable.
While grocery rebates now landing in low- and middle-income Canadians’ bank accounts offer some short-term relief, the new strategy aims to address some of the root causes behind the spike in food prices.
Carney announced the new measures at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto, which distributes nearly two billion pounds of fruits and vegetables annually across Canada.
The strategy commits $1 billion over a decade to food infrastructure. The money will go into the new Food Link Fund to support wholesale marketplaces known as food terminals and food hubs.
These terminals allow independent grocers to buy food at competitive prices. They also sell fresh produce directly to hospitals, restaurants and consumers.
The strategy sets targets, including expanding the Ontario Food Terminal by the end of the year, opening two new food terminals and establishing or expanding 10 smaller food hubs by the end of 2028.
A senior official told reporters in a briefing that the strategy does not set a target price for a basket of goods nor define what affordable food means.
Read more from the CBC’s Janyce McGregor and David Thurton.
What else is going on?
Ottawa moves to restrict social media for kids under 16
Bill would also force AI chatbots to follow new safety criteria
Former Air Canada pilot’s alleged fraud a ‘big issue’ for airline’s credibility, some experts say
Police allege Geoffrey Wall, 59, flew hundreds of commercial flights without appropriate licence
Anatomy of a fraud: How scammers use our emotions against us
A detective and scam psychology expert break down the formula behind frauds — and how to protect yourself
New data shows 1 in 3 young Canadians have tried nicotine pouches
Imperial Tobacco, Conservatives, Alberta premier all want Ottawa to loosen restrictions
Researchers aim to be first team to diagnose CTE while people are alive to ‘stop the disease and reverse it’
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