Oct 3, 2026
An elaborate scam that cost a B.C. senior almost $1.7 million last year is raising questions about how well financial institutions in Canada protect their customers from increasingly tech-savvy fraudsters.
The case is especially concerning not only because of the amount stolen, but because the scam ran for several months, prompting concerns about who’s to blame for the brazen theft: the customer or the banks.
How a BC senior lost almost $1.7 million to scammers
Ray Anholt, an 89-year-old senior living in Victoria, British Columbia at the time, received a call in June 2024 from a scammer posing as a CIBC (TSX: CM) bank employee. The scammer convinced him his money and identity were at risk of being stolen and asked him to help with an investigation involving money laundering.
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As CBC News reported, the scammers instructed Anholt to withdraw money from his accounts and provide it to couriers that would arrive to pick it up at his apartment. Anholt complied, and the scammers assured him the money would be kept safe during the investigation and eventually returned.
To convince Anholt, the scammers used spoofed phone calls and fraudulent letters connected to government officials — and for about six months, Anholt received a barrage of calls and letters that, over that time, almost completely drained his life savings from his CIBC and RBC (TSX: RY) bank accounts. When his family eventually discovered what was happening, Anholt had lost nearly $1.7 million.
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How the ‘bank investigator’ fraud works
Anholt fell victim to ‘bank investigator fraud’, a scheme in which a scammer impersonates a bank employee and claims the customer’s account has been compromised. The scammer urges the customer to send money to a new ‘secure account’ or deliver it elsewhere for safekeeping. Not surprisingly, the money won’t be returned (unless the thieves get caught and there are funds to recover).
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the federal agency that collects data and reports on fraud and identity theft, more than 2,100 cases of this type of con were reported in 2025. While rare — bank investigator fraud accounts for less than 2% of fraud-related cases in 2025 — these schemes can result in devastating losses, as Anholt and his family learned.
When a bank customer is scammed, who is responsible?
When a bank customer loses money to a scammer, it’s not always clear who’s liable. While banks take measures to protect customers’ accounts through internal policies, user agreements and voluntary Codes of Conduct, no laws compel them to take responsibility 100% of the time.
In general, a bank won’t reimburse you for money lost to a scammer if you failed to take reasonable efforts to safeguard your account. Examples of a when a bank can deny a reimbursement include:
- Sharing your personal identification number (PIN) or online password with someone else
- Writing down your banking information where others can see it
- Ignoring warnings from your bank about suspicious activity
What if you were tricked into willingly sending money to a scammer?
In a case like Ahholt, where a person is tricked into willingly sending money to a scammer, the banks may deny any responsibility — treating the transaction(s) as legitimate. The rationale is that a bank employee can’t realistically prevent customers from accessing their accounts simply because one or more transactions appear unusual or out of character. As a result, from the bank’s perspective, the client authorized the payment, so the client is responsible for the loss.
Canada’s banking regulator supports this approach. According to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), compensation to the consumer is not recommended unless “it is reasonable for the firm to be held responsible for the consumer’s losses.”
Unauthorized transactions, however, are a different matter. Federally regulated financial institutions must investigate unauthorized transactions when reported before holding the account holder accountable for the loss.
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A bank can be held liable when it fails to act on clear red flags, such as an unusual spike in transactions on an account or when it doesn’t follow its own terms or consumer protection laws. For example, banks must report transactions over $10,000 to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), which investigates financial crimes in the country.
Anholt’s case is complicated and illustrates why determining culpability is challenging. The senior initiated the cash withdrawals voluntarily, which he had the right to do, despite not knowing he had fallen prey to scammers. A CIBC branch manager noticed questionable activity, froze Anholt’s account, and even wrote him a letter warning him about the unusual transactions. However, the bank employees never escalated the suspicious withdrawals to the bank’s fraud specialists, according to a CBC News article, leaving unresolved questions about whether enough was done to protect Anholt’s money.
Protecting yourself from fraud: Slow down before sending a single dollar
A combination of sophisticated technology and social engineering is making financial scams harder to spot, but vigilance can reduce your risk of becoming a victim.
In general, a bank employee will never ask you to:
- Disclose sensitive bank account details, such as your debit PIN or online banking password
- Urge you to do something in haste, such as withdraw money or transfer funds to an account that you’re not familiar with
- Warn you that your money will be frozen or potentially stolen if you don’t take action by a specific time
- Transfer your money to a “secure account” for safety
- Click a link in an email or text message to unlock a frozen account.
- Encourages you to help with an internal investigation
- Provide them with access to your computer or smartphone
- Ask you to download software to your computer or other device
- Send a courier to your home to collect funds
In general, all banking customers should treat unexpected requests for money as suspicious, even when they appear to come from your bank. Instead of authorizing the transaction, hang up and contact the bank using the number on the back of your card or the official website to verify the request — do not use a number provided by a representative that contacted you. Another option is to visit a bank branch in person and ask to review the concerns and your accounts.
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Mark Gregorski is a freelance personal finance writer and former accountant with more than a decade of experience. He holds a finance degree from NAIT.
