Michel Arcand is an editor of films. His name is associated with several works that have marked Quebec cinema. Maurice Richard, Léolo, A zoo at night And even a James Bond. Michel is my cousin.
A few weeks ago, he told me about his adventure with the National Bank. Last December, he slipped a check for $ 500 in a Christmas card he offers to his daughter Lily. Quickly, she made an online deposit and replaces the check in the map since it must be kept for a few days. Michel checks his account. The sum is debited. Everything is beautiful.
In April, Lily finds the Christmas card and the check inside. She no longer knows if she has already cashed it. I hear you say, yes, but she could have verified. TRUE. But she didn’t do it. She deposits the check again and takes care to warn her father. Michel is convinced that the bank will block the check. The error will be detected.
Well no. The sum is debited a second time. A check of $ 500 turns into a gift of $ 1000.
An employee of the National Bank’s customer service explains to Michel that he can do nothing, that the system is not perfect and that he should claim the amount from his daughter. Nice deal.
We have joined the National Bank, which recognized two errors. First, the software should have detected that there was a problem with the check in order to push the verification further. In addition, Canada Payment rules indicate that the customer has 90 days to reverse the transaction. No one presented this option to Michel.
A good faith error. And that makes a nice end -of -session gift for Lily. Note that it is easier to get along with your daughter than with some suppliers.
Jean-François Leclerc is a pharmacist in Côte-des-Neiges, in Montreal. In November 2023, a new client appeared at her pharmacy. She comes to seek medication for expensive treatment. It is not covered by a medication insurance plan. It offers to pay and settle its status with the RAMQ. The public scheme reimburses Mr. Leclerc who, in turn, made a check for $ 5,757 to the patient. Everything is beautiful.
Two months later, the check was cashed a second time. Mr. Leclerc warns the RBC which ends up repaying. Everything is beautiful.
Shortly after, Mr. Leclerc received a call for a business that specializes in the rapid collection of checks. Is the check for $ 5,757 still good? asks him the person on the phone. Obviously no! The check was in his third life.
A few weeks ago, the famous check for $ 5,757 resurfaces. A fourth life.
Jean-François Leclerc notes that the transaction was accepted by the RBC. Worse, the check, still the same, was made up to register a new date: November 2025! Therefore, a check collected in 2023 is accepted by the prestigious RBC six months before the date registered by the fraudster.
After our calls, the RBC reimbursed Mr. Leclerc once again. He will file a complaint to the police.
This is an obvious case of fraud. But do you believe that the RBC and the police will make a lot of effort to locate the client or one of her relatives who has been playing with the same check for almost two years?
These are rare cases. There are fewer and fewer checks in circulation. No system is infallible. And people are generally honest. These cases are part of the losses to be assumed for a bank.
Today we use our debit and credit cards. We make electronic transfers and deposits. We never see the color of money. Fraud still exists, but in another form.
In 2023, dozens of entrepreneurs doing business with the National Bank were robbed hundreds of thousands of dollars by hackers. This is the obstacle course to try to recover the money and make the bank admit its responsibility.
Banking institutions are not recognized to be particularly understanding with the victims of fraud.
Do you get ripped off? Are you blinded by increasingly sophisticated schemes? Bingo! It’s your fault.
Talk to Peter MacLeod and 200 RBC customers who were siphoning their accounts. The trap was perfect. The name of the institution displayed on your phone. A reminder number that works. Small music to make you wait. Specific information. The hatch opens and your money flies away.
Banks are still right. You are still wrong. You are always alleged accomplice of thieves by your naivety. It’s up to you to prove your innocence. It will be long, painful and without guarantee of success.
Artificial intelligence will allow institutions to protect themselves better. But it will also allow fraudsters to improve their methods.
You will always be stuck between the two.
Have a good summer!
