Same scam. 2 countries. Why Canadians don’t get their money back
Canadian scam victims face significant financial losses with little recourse, unlike their British counterparts who are protected by stricter banking regulations. The article highlights the disparity in consumer protection laws between the two countries regarding fraudulent transactions.
Why it matters
It highlights a critical gap in financial consumer protection in Canada compared to international standards, impacting how victims recover from fraud.
Asif Mohammed lost $7,200 this spring and never got it all back. Meanwhile, Samantha Bradshaw was out £11,000 (nearly $21,000 Cdn) but her financial institution reimbursed the money within days.
That's because British banks are required by law to make most of their customers whole when money is lost to a scam, often returning the sum within days of making a claim. In contrast, Canadian banks have no such legal obligation, leaving scam victims here largely unprotected.
As CBC’s Marketplace found out, it also means British banks are incentivized to crack down on fraudsters in a way Canadian banks are not.
Bank scammer confronted by CBC Marketplace
The caller identified herself as a representative from Tangerine’s fraud investigations department and told him there had been multiple attempts to use his debit card at a Best Buy in Edmonton.
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