Montreal police say bank fraud schemes yield nearly $1M, 6 suspects arrested

Montreal police say they've arrested six suspects in connection with two fraud schemes believed to have generated nearly a million dollars in losses for victims, and they're urging people to be aware of signs that someone might be targeting them.

Police say they think the suspects stole money from about 50 victims.

In a release issued Wednesday, police say they conducted seven raids in Montreal as well as Sainte-Julie and Carignan, two municipalities located in the Montérégie region. The six people arrested are five men between the ages of 19 and 33 and a 22-year-old woman.

Police say both schemes involve impersonating someone who works at a bank.

In one instance, a fake bank representative calls a victim to tell them a fraudulent transaction in their account had just been made in a separate province. The fraudster then tells the victim to cut their bank card in half — without damaging the chip — and to put the pieces of the bank card in an envelope.

The victim is then asked to provide his personal identification number and given a fake reference code to write on the envelope. Police say a known delivery company, who has nothing to do with the scheme, would be sent to pick up the envelope and deliver it to the suspects.

In the second scheme, the fraudster would call victims and tell them they needed to quickly transfer their money to a new account with the same bank. The fraudster then convinces the victim to log into their online bank account and guides them through the process of opening a new one. The victim transfers their money to a new account, the fraudster gets the confirmation number for the transfer and gets ahold of the funds. 

Police say three firearms were found during Wednesday's raids. They also say two other raids were conducted last month. 

Four of the suspects were expected to appear in court on Wednesday. The others were released from custody and given a promise to appear in court at a later date. According to police, there will likely be more arrests in connection with this investigation and they're asking anyone with information to call 911 or their local police station. 

WATCH | Expert explains how bank scams work: 

Cybersecurity expert explains how bank investigator scams work and who's behind them

2 years ago

Duration 4:09

Claudiu Popa says efforts to fool unsuspecting bank customers into handing over money go well beyond saying the right words over the phone.

Tips to avoid fraud

In its release, police also shared tips to avoid being a victim of a similar scheme:

• Don't assume a bank is calling you based on caller ID because fraudsters use apps to display the names of financial institutions when they call.
• Tell the person who called you that you'll call them back and never give personal information over the phone. 
• Don't succumb to their pressure.
• Explain what happened to a family member or a loved one you trust before committing to doing anything.
• When in doubt, contact your financial institution either in person or by phone or contact your local police station.
• If it's an emergency, call 911.