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Immigrant ripped off of $19,000

Immigrant ripped off of $19,000

Bootsy Boo Boo
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 22

Bootsy Boo Boo
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 22

Immigrant ripped off of $19,000
7/11/2016 at 1:11 PM

This is a story about my good friends and neighbors. There is a FRONT PAGE article in todays Brandon Sun about a young family that moved to Brandon from Siberia Russia in February. They are very new to Canada. She,(Kate) is an English teacher working at Tim Hortons on the Hill until she gets her Canadian teaching credentials, her husband (Juri)works hard at Maple Leaf and they have a beautiful little girl who we don''''t need to name.
In any case. Kate answered a secret shopper ad offering her part time work as a secret shopper. They sent her a $19000.00 cheque and then had her deposit that cheque into her own bank account. 10 days later they asked her to transfer that money on to other secret shoppers, which she did. Then RBC notified her the cheque was fradulent?????? What exactly is RBC''''s Fraud department doing and who clears a $19000.00 cheque and releases funds to a new to Canada Customer. I''m thinking someone here in Brandon at the 18th Street Branch messed up and now Kate is paying the price for that person''s mistake???Somethings fishy here!!!!! Be weary because in my opinion, RBC IS NOT looking out for it''''s customers best interest or they would have a least investigated a cheque of such a large amount before releasing funds. I''''m curious to see what othr Brandonites opinion is on this matter.
And for the record - Kate went to the Police, she has nothing to hide, no involvement at all and DID NOT see a penny of that money. SHE IS A VICTIM.

To make a long story short, RBC has seized the family''s entire savings of $12000.00 and applied it towards repayment of a cheque they should never have cleared in the first place.

RBC you should be ashamed of yourself and ashamed to say that you care about your customer. I call BS.

I''m asking Brandonite''s to speak out against this crime so we can help this family get their money back. They are just honest hard working people trying to make a better life for their child in this country we call so "GREAT".
Speak out and if someone knows how to post the Brandon Sun link, please do so.

Edited by Bootsy Boo Boo, 2016-07-11 13:27:48
Fondue
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1240

Fondue
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1240

..
7/11/2016 at 1:17 PM

I don't get you. RBC was able to detect the fraudulent cheque so what's the problem here? Do you actually believe Secret Shopper will pay you $19,000?
Cheezies
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1623

Cheezies
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1623

Sorry
7/11/2016 at 1:29 PM

Sorry, but your friends and scammers are at fault. Not RBC. Your friend deposited a fraudulent chq. Then took the money out after 10 days, then gave it to someone else. That leaves the bank short $19,000. If course they want their money back. These scammers know how long it takes for funds to seem clear, then get you to resend the money back to them. The scammers get $19,000. It takes time to discover fraudulent chqs. And since your friends had $12,000 in savings, odds are they have good credit and don''t have long holds in the acct. therefore giving them access to the money faster. I'm surprised your friends didn't ask more questions about why they were not allowed to use the funds and send them away to others.
The scammers are at fault and your friends for "falling for it". But RBC shouldn''t be held at fault. For all they know your friend could be part of the scam.
It sucks, and I do feel bad for them. Hopefully the police can help them, but RBC does need to recoup the funds your friends gave away. This is how scammers work, and it can happen with any mysterious chq sent to a one at any bank. These scams happen a lot to seniors, etc.

Edited by Cheezies, 2016-07-11 13:33:57
Collie
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 395

Collie
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 395

Sadly
7/11/2016 at 1:30 PM

For as much as I despise RBC, I don't think any other bank would have done any different in this situation.
Bootsy Boo Boo
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 22

Bootsy Boo Boo
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 22

Did you Read the article.
7/11/2016 at 1:31 PM

RBC only etected the cheque to be fradulent AFTER they released the funds. Now she's on the hook because RBC didn't do their homework. Aren't banks supposed to look after us and our money.?
Juggler99
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 183

Juggler99
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 183

..
7/11/2016 at 1:31 PM

Doesn't any cheque in Canada deposited over 10,000 have to be held till the funds are verified?
Bootsy Boo Boo
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 22

Bootsy Boo Boo
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 22

You would think?
7/11/2016 at 1:35 PM

In the best interest of all parties involved. Scammers are going to have a field day with this now that they know how easy it is to pass a phoney $19000.00 cheque.
Cheezies
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1623

Cheezies
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1623

Photo
7/11/2016 at 1:40 PM

Added a photo of RBC''s policies to this discussion. I Encourage you to read it and see that it says the account holders are liable. Cheques can end up being returned within a time frame. So it can look like it cleared to the bank, then it turns around and gets yanked back after funds were released. The scammers know this, and know how to do it.

Edited by Cheezies, 2016-07-11 13:43:20
KM68
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 5

KM68
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 5

..
7/11/2016 at 1:52 PM

If I read the article correctly, she lied to the bank when they asked her where the cheque was from. First rule of thumb, if someone asks you to lie than you really need to step back and reevaluate the situation.
ynot
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 730

ynot
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 730

Banks
7/11/2016 at 1:55 PM

Bank(& credit union)policies are for their own protection.
Do not believe the TV ads that say they are your friend ! They are fair-weather friends at best.

burkejan
Joined: This month
Posts: 109

burkejan

Joined: This month

Posts: 109

She lied?

7/11/2016 at 2:31 PM

KM68 said "If I read the article correctly, she lied to the bank when they asked her where the cheque was from. First rule of thumb, if someone asks you to lie than you really need to step back and reevaluate the situation. "

I can't read the article, where did she tell the bank the cheque was from?

Either way, not RBCs fault.

Tamara79
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2102

Tamara79
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2102

Yes
7/11/2016 at 2:34 PM

I knew another immigrant to our country who fell for this scam years back, for a much smaller amount though. The best defense is education and awareness.

I also agree with the other posters, what do you expect the bank to do? They also rely on their account holders to be semi responsible with their own money and not fall for these type of scams and use common sense. $19 000 is alot of money to be handing over no questions asked.
RandomGuy
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 44

RandomGuy
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 44

Step 1: Don't use a bank
7/11/2016 at 3:01 PM

Step 2: Pick a credit union
Tater
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 372

Tater
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 372

Blaming the victim
7/11/2016 at 3:03 PM

Nice, EBrandon, blame the victim. RBC should have better anti-fraud measures than that! 10 days and they didn't realize the cheque wasn't good???? get real! RBC should try to actually catch the scammers instead of just recouping from victims, that is sickening, especially since they make money hand over fist, billions in profits, they should bear the risk. Period.
RGT
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 26

RGT
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 26

know your client
7/11/2016 at 3:23 PM

In this day and age it's amazing how many people fall for this. Plus, I find RBC to also be at fault. The teller should have inquired more, and even if she did lie to the bank, I can't imagine this person was making deposits of that size on a regular basis, if at all. A hold should have been placed until funds were verified, unless this person had enough ion deposit to cover the cheque if it was bad, fraudulent, had a stop payment or whatever. Both parties are at fault.

Fishin Guy
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 6897

Fishin Guy

Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 6897

....

7/11/2016 at 3:26 PM

Tater said "Nice, EBrandon, blame the victim. RBC should have better anti-fraud measures than that! 10 days and they didn't realize the cheque wasn't good???? get real! RBC should try to actually catch the scammers instead of just recouping from victims, that is sickening, especially since they make money hand over fist, billions in profits, they should bear the risk. Period. "

Why is it the banks fault on this? Where is any of the accountability of the account holder? I don't care where the heck you go in this world....If someone gave me a payment of 19 grand, told me to lie to the bank about it, then deposit money over 3 different accounts....really?!?!?!? There would not be one raised eyebrow of a though on that one? Within this OP does it make a difference if they were an immigrant or not? If it was always the bank's fault everyone could potentially scam the banks and say Ooooppss....my bad didn't know.

Let's stick it to the bank.....I will give someone a $10,000 dollar cheque just for giggles. Then please lie about where it came from when you deposit it.......then transfer it over my 3 offshore bank accounts please......then if anything comes back plead foul and let's stick it to the bank as it is all their fault this happened.

fairyfarm
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 11

fairyfarm
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 11

hmmm
7/11/2016 at 3:39 PM

Well, I bank at TD. I've had family members send me cheques in the mail for birthdays, Christmases etc and they have held the cheques in amounts as low as $50-$100. Now my grandma sends my son money orders for his birthday because TD won't cash the personal cheques right away. It sounds to me like RBC needs to follow suit and look into things a bit more further. If my $50 personal cheques aren't getting cashed, why isn't RBC finding $19,000 cheques fishy? It is very sad all around. Unfortunately I get those secret shopper texts all the time and I know better but maybe someone who doesn't speak our language / isn't from this country, would not. Either way the money has to be paid back somehow. It's too bad they don't have a policy that protects their clients
Abbysmum
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 5038

Abbysmum
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 5038

Didn't read the article
7/11/2016 at 3:41 PM

I can't access the article so I can't comment on the particulars, but I find it odd that people are accusing one another of assigning "blame".

No one is to blame except the scammers. In these cases, both the victim and the banks are played.

Should she have used common sense? Yes. Should the bank have more rigorous fraud protections in place? Yes.

BUT...

The scammers know how to play the system. They know how to get around the fraud systems in place. They also know how to target the people more likely to cooperate with their nefarious schemes. There was something in the news last week about why scam emails are so badly written - because the people who desperately want the idea of getting money from a Nigerian price won't care if there's spelling mistakes. It weeds out the people who will waste the scammer's time. This is similar is concept - they know how to target people like this woman.

It's no one's fault but the scammers.
RainaRo
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 724

RainaRo
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 724

no bank
7/11/2016 at 3:44 PM

No bank is your friend, no bank is any better. Like above posters have stated fraud happens all the time. And it's a matter of sorry not their fault. Lots of banks don't check the cheques that come through. Many banks even cash cheques that clearly state DO NOT CASH THIRD PARTY CHEQUES. All banks want is to do their business and make money. Add in the fact that she didn't do her research and didn't think wow I have all this money but now I must give it to others. Sorry when did she get the business manager title ? All way too fishy not to raise a few eyebrows and red flags.
Drowsy
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 119

Drowsy
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 119

Unfortunate situation
7/11/2016 at 3:48 PM

It is an unfortunate situation for your friend. Too bad she did not speak to you before she did this so you could have helped prevent her loss.
I am unable to access the article to be enlightened to the details of the story or how the bank has responded to the customer’s complaint. I am, however, left wondering this.
If the bank refused to cash the cheque, would we be reading a story about discrimination against immigrants?
zoey_micz

Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 37

zoey_micz
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 37

access full story at Winnipeg Free Press
7/11/2016 at 4:11 PM

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/immigrant-out-thousands-after-falling-victim-to-scam-386239441.html
crunchy1885
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 821

crunchy1885
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 821

wfp
7/11/2016 at 4:35 PM

Reading the comments on WFP, nearly everyone thinks RBC should absorb the loss. This got me thinking - let's say RBC did offer coverage for this sort of scam and they did absorb it and let her off the hook. Now what happens if this woman wired herself the three payments of $6,000 into accounts with different names and then cries to the bank saying she fell for a scam and they need to cover it because it's not her fault?
Heritage
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 415

Heritage
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 415

...
7/11/2016 at 5:47 PM

I can't believe you announced so much of their personal information to the entire city: their names, where they work & how much their life savings were.

You could have posted without names, nowthey may feel foolish for falling for this & that everyone knows.

Johnbisonbear
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4183

Johnbisonbear

Joined: Mar 2010

Posts: 4183

Brandon Sun today

7/11/2016 at 6:11 PM

Heritage said "I can't believe you announced so much of their personal information to the entire city: their names, where they work & how much their life savings were.

You could have posted without names, nowthey may feel foolish for falling for this & that everyone knows. "

all this information is in the paper today

Brenda..
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 9544

Brenda..

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 9544

RBC

7/11/2016 at 6:24 PM

Johnbisonbear said "

Heritage said "I can't believe you announced so much of their personal information to the entire city: their names, where they work & how much their life savings were.

You could have posted without names, nowthey may feel foolish for falling for this & that everyone knows. "

all this information is in the paper today "

I cannot understand why people would think it is the banks fault? Many, many people have been scammed in the past years and has never been the banks fault.

Scammers do what they do, it is the people who "let them into their life" that are at fault. Who just gives out that kind of money? If you are not sure if it is a scam, check around, there are many places to find money. If your first thought is, this a scam or not, then stay away, your gut feeling is probably right.

I am sorry this happened to this family and being immigrants, they were fooled into this by either lack of education, knowledge on scammers. (I am certainly not saying they are dumb, by the previous statement). But, if I chose to lend my friend $10000 and it was not paid back even though he/she made a big promise it would be paid back, with interest in so many months and it wasn''t, it sure would not be RBC''s fault, I was scammed by a friend.

(didn't mean to make this a quote)

Edited by Brenda, 2016-07-11 18:34:49

NA
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 73

NA
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 73

It should be
7/11/2016 at 8:01 PM

Banks fault 100%. They shouldn't have let them touch a 19,000 cheque without seeing if it was real or not first. They would also have insurance for such type things I'm sure.
delyla
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 366

delyla
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 366

scam
7/11/2016 at 10:33 PM

Shogun22 said "Banks fault 100%. They shouldn't have let them touch a 19,000 cheque without seeing if it was real or not first. They would also have insurance for such type things I'm sure. "

Sad story but not the banks fault. Lied about check as being from father. Check was on a hold and NOT cleared. They do have banks in Russia and being a teacher all she had to do was inquire with RBC. Then checks were sent to 3 banks which should have sent off some alarms for the girl. To write 3 checks for 18000 on an uncleared 19000 check is bad. Sad story but not the banks fault. I am sure this will be flagged but my thoughts only.
burkejan
Joined: This month
Posts: 109

burkejan
Joined: This month
Posts: 109

Yikes
7/11/2016 at 11:13 PM

zoey_micz said "http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/immigrant-out-thousands-after-falling-victim-to-scam-386239441.html "

She's completely responsible, lied to the bank about where it came from? Not very smart. The bank is now out 19000, of course they should get it back.

KM68
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 5

KM68

Joined: Nov 2015

Posts: 5

...

7/11/2016 at 11:43 PM

burkejan said "

KM68 said "If I read the article correctly, she lied to the bank when they asked her where the cheque was from. First rule of thumb, if someone asks you to lie than you really need to step back and reevaluate the situation. "

I can't read the article, where did she tell the bank the cheque was from?

Either way, not RBCs fault. "

From Brandon sun article. "They told me as well not to tell the bank, not to reveal myself, not to tell them where I got the cheque and that I worked for silent shoppers and things," explained Lobaeva. Instead, she said the money came from her father in Russia.

cshells
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 26

cshells
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 26

Immigrant ripped off
7/12/2016 at 3:58 AM

Silent Shopper jobs do exist in Brandon. Thorough instructions on how to perform the shop and a lengthy list of questions are i:ncluded. These companies pay each silent shopper DIRECTLY. However, the pay is minimal...if the deal sounds too good to be true, assume that it is. My heart goes out to.this family. What a welcome to Canada.