He was robbed of $7,400 by a fake Royal Bank employee: “I was treated like a number”

A former Goodyear executive, who was stolen $7,400 last March by a fake Royal Bank employee, is angry with his financial institution because it allegedly promised him twice to reimburse him before changing idea.

“I still have trouble sleeping. It upsets me. I find it painful,” sighs Richard Dupuis, 60, from the MRC des Moulins, in Lanaudière.

“When I pressed “Enter” and the fake employee hung up the line, I realized I had been defrauded,” says the still shaken man.

Last summer, The Journal told the story of a man from the North Shore of Montreal and a woman from the Quebec region, both shaken by the same nightmare.

Same modus operandi

The modus operandi on the phone is always the same.

Each time, a fake employee asks to put money into their own bank account to block an alleged fraudulent transaction, and then the funds are gone.

Since the start of the year, more than 219 Quebecers have lost $1.4 million in this type of fraud, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center (see table below).

What shocks Richard Dupuis is that even though he acted quickly, he has the impression of “having been treated like a number” from start to finish by the Royal Bank.

“I called them 35 seconds later, but it was too late. The money was no longer there,” regrets the one who was caught on a Friday, around 5 p.m.

Two broken tips?

A few days after the theft, Richard Dupuis called his branch. He then claims that an employee told him not to worry, because he was going to be reimbursed.

“It relieved me of stress because I hadn’t slept for that long,” remembers the man who had been a Royale customer for 25 years.

Two days later, another RBC employee told him again not to worry, and that he would soon see the color of his money again.

But none of this happened, despite complaints to the RBC Ombudsman, Banking Services and Investments Ombudsman and the police.

“Yes, I made a mistake, but they have a responsibility. They didn’t do everything. They didn’t stop the money,” he denounces.

RBC defends itself

Asked by The Journalthe Royal Bank requested more details about Richard Dupuis’ case and subsequently declined to comment “for reasons of confidentiality.”

“We understand that being the victim of fraud or a scam can cause a lot of stress,” admitted Royal Bank spokesperson Jessica Assaf.

The Royal Bank has reiterated that it will never ask for a one-time access code to send money, download an application, access its online banking services or even participate in a fundraising event. saying secret operation to prevent fraud.

Fake employee fraud

• 2024: 219 victims ($1.4 million)
• 2023: 268 victims ($1.5 million)
• 2022: 136 victims ($904,000)
• 2021: 107 victims ($406,000)
• 2020: 45 victims ($953,000)

(Source: Canadian Anti-Fraud Center, Quebec data. For 2024, these are data from January to September.)