He had $42,000 stolen from his BMO account: “The fraud paid off to the Bank”

A Bank of Montreal (BMO) customer, who says he had nearly $42,000 stolen from his account, can’t believe that the fraud is generating thousands of dollars in interest for his bank, who washes his hands of it, according to him.

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“To date, the fraud has brought in more than $5,000 in interest to the Bank of Montreal (BMO),” complains Pierre Lequin, posted in front of his BMO on rue Masson, in Montreal.

“I have been a customer there for over 30 years. If I treated my customers like that, it would have been a long time since my business would be closed,” sighs the 66-year-old businessman, head of an import SME.

On Wednesday, the business owner had a lot to say about his ordeal experienced in recent months, which forced him to file a complaint with the police.

“In addition to the interest that BMO takes directly from my account, there are my credit ratings which are affected by this fraud,” laments Pierre Lequin, at the end of his patience.

Horror story

Pierre Lequin’s horror story apparently began on Halloween last year. He notices that $24,500 from his line of credit has disappeared.

He then calls his BMO credit card to alert them and tell them not to transfer this money. However, not only is it too late, but the next day, he notices with amazement another fraudulent transaction, this time $17,000.

Despite his endless phone calls and emails, nothing helped: the institution refused to reimburse him.

Each time, BMO tells him that someone used his PIN and answered a security question, which is false according to him since he never used his PIN or even made a purchase using it. ‘outside.

“I have been honest all my life. I have been in the import business for 35 years. I’m the victim of something so weird. It shocks me because I even brought big clients to BMO,” he says.

“It’s an obligation for a bank to take care of the money,” he doesn’t get angry.

Today, he is awaiting a response from the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) for redress. “If it’s negative, I’ll file a lawsuit,” he says, naming the large law firm responsible for the case.

BMO defends itself

Asked by The newspaperBMO has listed security rules for the banking sector.

“We are always willing to re-examine files when new information becomes available and we have contacted our client to discuss this matter,” the institution also indicated.

BMO said it wants to work on better information sharing between “government and policy makers – and with sectors like telecommunications, technology and social media companies, and other financial institutions to fill gaps that exist today to help Canadians defend themselves against scams.

Several other cases

Over the past few months, The newspaper reported several other cases of fraud involving BMO accounts. Here are three.

Without a job, he is defrauded twice

While he was unemployed, Fouad Allam was defrauded twice, in 2022 and 2023, for a total of $6,200.

A young doctor is robbed of $15,000

Aselin Weng, a young doctor, says she was stolen $15,000 from her BMO account after a questionable transaction on Marketplace.

He sees $12,000 disappear during a trip

A father, Mahdi Machani, saw $12,000 evaporate from his BMO account after having his phone stolen at his 40th birthday party in Chile.

– With the collaboration of Philippe Langlois