ED LAW: That's OK.
SEAN O'SHEA: Ann Chiu gets emotional
talking about what happened last month when scammers took
her money and stole her trust.
ANN CHIU: I was at work, and I was having lunch.
SEAN O'SHEA: It began with an innocent phone call
claiming to come from her bank.
ANN CHIU: This is CIBC fraud department,
and did you spend this money?
And this is how everything went from there.
SEAN O'SHEA: Ann has been a CIBC customer for 40 years.
That caller said someone at the branch was stealing.
ANN CHIU: A teller or the manager who's selling you out.
SEAN O'SHEA: The caller said he was a bank fraud investigator
and needed her help.
Somehow, nearly $8,000 was transferred from her line
of credit to her bank account.
She was told to go to the bank and get it out.
ANN CHIU: I would like to withdraw $7,800.
No question asked.
SEAN O'SHEA: The scammer told her to go buy Apple gift cards.
She bought them at this supermarket and this drugstore
and two dollar stores.
And then over the phone, the caller cashed in.
ANN CHIU: And I had no clue about these gift cards,
so I gave them the PIN number.
SEAN O'SHEA: Between that money and a draw on her credit card,
she lost a lot.
So more than $14,000 in total.
ANN CHIU: Yeah.
SEAN O'SHEA: CIBC told us it's working with the customer
and said it will never ask a client to assist in a fraud
investigation or request money to be sent
via cryptocurrencies, gift cards,
or electronic money transfers.
Ann's husband says it's important to get the word out.
ED LAW: We just need to start telling everybody about it.
Beware, beware, beware.
SEAN O'SHEA: The husband and wife small-business owners
are trying to put this loss behind them,
wanting to inform others about what happened to them.
Warning others to be vigilant.
If you want to speak to your bank, make the call yourself.
Don't trust someone calling you.
Sean O'Shea, Global News, Markham.