"Ray Anholt of Victoria recently marked his 90th birthday, but says there was little to celebrate — being the victim of one of the largest-ever bank investigator scams reported in Canada, he was left virtually penniless. Over six months last year, Anholt lost his life savings — almost $1.7 million. The scam involved phoney bank employees, fake official letters from various government bodies and politicians, piles of cash, massive bank drafts, gold bars and couriers..."
This story hardly sounds credible, but it did happen, and Mr Anholt is very brave to share it in order to warn others. The scammers can be very plausible and they play a long and complex game to draw victims in, one small detail at a time. "Last year alone, Canadians lost more than $643 million to bank fraud — an increase of nearly 300 per cent since 2020. As scams get increasingly sophisticated, experts say our financial institutions lag behind other countries with better protections."
The big red flags in this story:
- Call display on the initial call showed what looked like a legitimate bank phone number. As with apparent email IDs, call display numbers can be changed - which defeats the whole purpose of call display!
- Don't rely on call display. Ask "What bank are you calling from? What number are you calling from?" (Or just hang up.)
- DON'T give them any personal information, press number buttons if instructed to, confirm any details, or ever call them back on a number they give.
- The scammers pose as authority figures - they claimed to be from the bank's fraud department.
- Hang up and call the bank's real fraud department to check.
- The scammers play on fears - they told Mr. Anholt not to tell anyone.
- Tell! Tell your bank and/or financial advisor: they want to know.
- Ask a family member what they think. Run it by a friend. Better to feel a little silly to have given a tall tale any credence than to fall for it.
- Report the scam to your local police non-emergency line. You are not bothering them: they want to know.
- You are probably not the only one, and you may not be the first. The police acted in this case, successfully.
- The scammers told Mr Anholt to withdraw cash for a courier to pick up from his home.
- Stop and think: is this a logical request from a bank? No. Your cash is already in the bank!
- The scammers convinced Mr Anholt that politicians and other powerful people needed his help.
- Stop and think: your bank or the government do not need individual account holders' help - or gold bars - to fight fraud!
All kinds of abuse thrive on secrecy and isolation.
It's easy to be convinced in the moment - but if a friend told you a story like this, would you think it sounded right?
Be wary of any message or call asking for urgent help, gift cards or donations, including those that purport to come from clergy or church staff - or even from loved ones. Have you had a stranger's voice greet on you on the phone with "Hi Grandma" yet? Just hang up - they may want to record and use your voice. Then call the real person they were pretending to be.
The Anglican Church of Canada is committed to the safety and privacy of its community; General Synod staff (and diocesan and parish staff) will not request personal or financial information by email or text and will never ask for login or password details. If a message seems suspicious, avoid clicking links or opening attachments and instead contact the alleged sender using details provided in the General Synod staff directory; diocesan staff directory; parish staff directory
Learn more and access helpful tools:
- The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre — recognize and report scams
- Connected Canadians — digital literacy workshops fostering safe internet habits
- Phishing: Don't get reeled in — accessible tips on staying safe online