Scam victim says mistake ruined her life

A Dryden woman says she's still paying the price for an internet scam she fell for almost 10 years ago.

Eliana Wittwer said she lost more than $300,000 — and that includes money paid back to the Royal Bank after the scam led to bounced cheques. Wittwer added that although she had made all the payments, RBC recently sent a letter saying it no longer wanted her as a customer.

"I'm angry about myself that I ... was so stupid to fall for something like that ... And now with the reaction of the bank I feel I'm a criminal," she said.

Wittwer said it was stupid for her to believe all those years ago in an offer that promised a huge profit if she sent money overseas.

"What came to my mind first was, 'oh that would be awesome.’ I can pay the debts ... and secure the kids' education," she said.

"I made a big mistake. I pretty much ruined my life."

‘So bloody naïve’

Wittwer said she used her life savings and borrowed money to send more than $200,000. When she ran out of money, she said someone affiliated with the scheme offered to loan her the equivalent of the taxes and fees she supposedly had to pay to get her share.   

That person sent her cheques — which subsequently bounced and left Wittwer owing the Royal Bank more than $100,000.

"I was so bloody naïve," she said.

It took six years for Wittwer to pay the bank back. Then, she said, in June she received a letter from RBC saying it no longer wanted her as a client — despite the fact she was a longtime RBC customer before she fell victim to the scam.

Wittwer said she hopes sharing her story will help prevent other people from suffering the same fate.

"I just want to ... warn everybody else out there [to] never answer to such emails or phone calls or anything," she said. "Don't do it."

‘Difficult, complex situation’

RBC didn't make Wittwer pay back the entire sum she owed them, which amounted to about $170,000. Instead she had to pay back $108,000.

Although she accepts responsibility for being stupid and believing the scam, Wittwer questions why the bank didn't put a hold on the cheques she deposited before allowing the wire transfer to go through.

She figured the bank would want to make sure the cheques were valid, since they were for such large amounts and were from a third party.

"If I would have known that these cheques were fraudulent, I never would have stepped foot into the bank," she said.

But RBC said in an e-mail statement to CBC that "it isn't our policy to place a hold on every cheque that comes in for deposit … nor do we place a hold on all cheques above any specific threshold."

The bank said it is "continuing to work with Ms. Wittwer to try to resolve this very difficult and complex situation. We have apologized to Ms. Wittwer for not reviewing all the details of her concerns more promptly and for not communicating with her in a more empathetic way. We certainly hope to continue our banking relationship with her."