Recently there was an attempt to defraud my family of about $1,500. The scammer overpaid for an item via a “CIBC bank draught” sent by UPS and requested I return the overpayment. He would arrange for pick up of the item later. Yes it seemed very suspicious. I took the very real looking bank draught to my CIBC branch. The clerk was prepared to deposit it into my account. I asked how long it would take to clear. He said I could have the funds right away. Oh my! I told him that I was suspicious of the cheque and I wanted the CIBC to assure me that the cheque was legit. I was prepared to wait weeks or whatever CIBC needed. He looked closer at the cheque and said “this looks different then the ones we usually use”. He took the cheque to a bank manager. He or she said not sure. They told me they would contact their head office and check it out. Advised me not deposit the “bank draft”. They would call me later.
Guess what ? It was a forgery.
I took my evidence to our RCMP office. A very nice receptionist told me they get about 30 of these a week and only investigate the ones where citizens lose money.
Can the bank do better? There must be a way that a bank can instantly legitimize their own bank draft. Surely if you bring a bogus CIBC bank draft to a CIBC teller the bank should be able to discredit it on the spot before depositing into your account. They should not even need my prompting.
Can our RCMP do better? Frauds like this one are a multi million dollar business. I believe all such fraud attempts should be documented for patterns and methods. The RCMP should continually advise both the public and the banks of such schemes. Where possible they should pursue with their counterparts in other countries methods to discourage these operations.
I am a senior and can recall when the safest way to receive money was with a bank draft or certified cheque. Hey when I got married the liquor store would not accept anything else for the beverages for my reception.
No harm done but I still think we can do better!
Wayne Richardson, St. Albert
