Family questions TD's fraud prevention after Winnipeg seniors lose $10K in grandparent scam

CBC

4 days ago

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The daughter of two Winnipeg seniors who fell victim to a so-called grandparent scam say somebody at their bank should have noticed fraud was taking place when more than $10,000 was transferred on their behalf in the branch over two consecutive days.
Carla Sasley said her parents, Sam and Cecile Victor, received a call in late July from someone pretending to be their grandson, telling them he'd been in a car accident.
She said somebody who said they were his lawyer then got on the phone, telling them their grandson had hit a pregnant woman, was going to be charged with a crime and he needed money for bail.
"It just sounded so true," said Cecile Victor. "When they asked for money, I thought if I don't send the money, they could hurt him."
The Victors are both over 80.
After the call, the grandparents went to their TD branch. They handed the teller a piece of paper with the scammers' account information and the amount they wanted to transfer. They made a second transfer the next day, after the scammers asked for more money.
Sasley, who was once a banker and works as an investigator for the Real Estate Council of Alberta, said somebody should have realized something was up.
"Nobody asked a question. Nobody even thought twice about it," Sasley said. "To me, there was no proper fraud training in place with those tellers and they were washing their hands of it … I think they really dropped the ball."
Sasley said she learned Sunday the bank had wrapped up its investigation and it would not be transferring the money back because the cardholders authorized it.
Sasley travelled from Calgary to Winnipeg to resolve the issue in person. She's still trying to get the bank to refund the money.
A spokesperson for TD Bank said in an email the company couldn't comment on the specifics of this case but it takes this kind of activity very seriously.
"The safety and security of our customers' information and accounts is a top priority for us," the spokesperson said, adding that the bank has controls in place, including ongoing training at its branches and technology to spot suspicious transactions.
The spokesperson urged any customers who believe they may have been scam victims to report it immediately to their financial institution, as well as police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
In an email, Winnipeg police said it received a report about the fraud and has assigned its financial crime unit to follow up.
Police said they continue to receive reports of grandparent scams and would like to raise awareness about the problem with the public.
Scams lead to almost $820K in losses
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said scammers often use details people share on social media or dating sites.
It said in an email that in the first half of 2025 it received more than 400 reports of fraud where the scammer's initial pitch involved an emergency, such as facing jail time or having been in an accident. The incidents resulted in more than $819,000 in losses.
Last year, that kind of fraud — which includes grandparent scams — resulted in $3.2 million in losses. But the CAFC said it estimates only between five and 10 per cent of victims ever file a report with the centre.
In Manitoba, there's been reports of the fraudsters meeting people in person and using AI-generated voices to better deceive their targets.
Sasley said the scammers knew her son's name and made small talk that made things "sound legit."
Cecile Victor said the person pretending to be the lawyer mentioned a Sunday family dinner. She said she and her grandson had indeed talked about dinner plans.
"How could you not believe that?" she said.
Sasley said a detail like that may be very common.
She said her parents were told not to tell anyone about what was happening. She said they only told her after they asked the scammer pretending to be the grandson for his girlfriend's phone number, and he hung up.
Sasley is encouraging people to call their loved ones to verify the authenticity of these calls.
"When you're seniors, especially elderly seniors, they play on your emotions," she said. "And that's kind of the bottom line … Everything else is blinding after that."