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David: When light fades in Mumbai, India,
the dark work of phone scammers begins, calling Canadians to
steal cash and personal information.
This insider is about to let you in on the scam they're focused
on most now and how it targets you.
Jayesh, how are you?
-Hi, I'm good, how are you? -I'm good.
[David] Jayesh Dubey is a whistleblower.
A former worker who still has connections on the inside.
I know you're in an area that can be dangerous,
how many call centres are around you?
How many people have you seen going into those buildings?
Going to work as scammers?
No problem with COVID.
No problem with police.
They just keep going.
No, not at all.
That building that you were showing me,
how much money are they going to steal tonight?
I think maybe $70,000, $80,000.
[David] $70,000 or $80,000 dollars in one night.
Yeah, yeah.
100% sure.
[man] Total amount, $27,100.
[David] How is it those scammers are still tricking Canadians
like this man out of thousands?
Tell me how it all began.
Well, it began about between 8 and 9 a.m.
I received a call...
[David] ..from someone claiming she's with RBC's
investigations department.
He fears for his family's safety,
so, we're concealing his identity calling him Ahmed.
And her words were,
your entire ID has been stolen and they have created a
virtual credit card in my name.
[David] It's called the bank investigator scam and
it's one of the most prolific with more than $3
million stolen just last year.
The caller may already have a lot of your personal
information, claim your bank account has
been hacked and your identity stolen.
[David] That triggers Ahmad's alarm because he just watched
this story about identity theft.
A Brampton family says thieves stole their identity and took
out a $100,000 mortgage on their home.
[David] Ahmed fears he'll be next so,
he does what the so-called bank investigator tells him.
She said do not talk to anyone, do not talk even to your wife.
Maybe people from within RBC are also involved.
[David] She says he needs to help the bank trap the thieves.
She sends him to 8 stores.
Shoppers, Rexall, Petro Canada, and others to buy thousands of
dollars in gift cards.
[David] Where does this money come from?
First, it's coming from my credit card,
$17,100 and another line of credit.
[David] Tell me, you are recovering from
cancer right now.
That's right.
[David] What has all of this done to your wellbeing,
your health?
[Crying]
-I'm sorry. -No, take your time...
[Crying]
It has shaken both of us.
This is something that can ruin or change someone's life
for the worst.
[David] Jennifer Ford Smith is a certified fraud examiner and
anti-money laundering specialist.
There's a huge amount of money for this guy,
and its money that isn't even really his,
he's had to borrow it.
So, he's going to be paying for being a victim.
It's going to be revictimized every single time he makes a
payment on that loan.
Sometimes with these scams, they can change day to day.
And so, it can be hard for the bank to keep up.
But if they're overall creating awareness that the client needs
to call in double check with them,
then the clients are less likely to lose money.
[David] These fraudsters rarely get confronted after a steal but
we're about to try.
This woman who scammed you, she's still been calling you.
Yes.
[David] Do you mind if I call her?
Oh, why not?
[David] Alright.
Let's do it. Yes, hello.
I'm trying to reach Christina please.
You're speaking with a journalist from CBC,
Canadian television, and I'm trying to understand why you
keep stealing money from people.
Why do you keep doing this?
[David] The people that you have stolen money from.
The people you are stealing thousands of dollars from.
-Why do you do that? [Beeping]
[David] She hangs up, not wanting to answer our questions.
But back in India, whistleblower Jayesh reveals why the bank
investigator scam is so successful.
[David] But with that bank investigator,
they're still targeting Canada?
-Yeah. -[David] Why?
Because the data is available.
[David] He says Canadians share a lot of personal info online,
making it way easier to find targets
and sound convincing.
[David] If you wanted to start a scam centre today,
Jayesh, how easy would it be?
I'll buy five systems, laptops, one server computer,
okay, I'll hire five people,
I'll buy leads, one number costs
two rupees, okay?
[David] So, it's very cheap to get into the scam business.
Very cheap, very cheap.
So, with 2 dollars I get 100 names,
numbers, everything.
Now I'll give them to the people I hired,
okay, and they start dialling.
And the game has started.
[David] The unwitting players in that game are Canadians being
told their bank accounts, their identity,
is in danger.
You want to see more warnings.
Absolutely. The buck stops at the banks!
[David] This is a guy who's wondering,
why when he went to the bank, why no one said, "Ahmed you've
never done this before."
"Are you being scammed?"
That's a good question, especially with someone
borrowing the funds.
At that point, that bank representative should have been
asking him "Are you comfortable with what you're using this for?
Can we help you in some other way?"
[David] And what about specifically warning there are
scams doing just this?
Absolutely, that's where we want the banks to be saying to
customers, "Just to let you know, we've seen
this type of thing before."
If you're asked to send money and you're pressured by someone
you've never met in person before,
something's not lining up here, let's all take a step back here
and consider whether this is legitimate or not.
[David] Canada's big banks are represented by the Canadian
Bankers' Association.
They tell us ultimately the customer is responsible.
But they say staff are trained to ask probing questions if a
client makes an unusual transaction.
And Ahmed's bank, RBC, says they have "sophisticated monitoring
systems and controls" and they can "proactively contact
clients" to confirm certain transactions.
Still there is no requirement forcing banks to warn people
like Ahmed and he says no one did.
Ahmed knows he'll likely never see his money again but is glad
just to be heard.
Why are you sharing your story with us now?
Basically, to tell people, to tell people that they should not
walk into this kind of a trap.
[David] We're going to keep investigating these phone scams
and we want to hear from you.
Have you paid money to a scammer claiming that you have unpaid
taxes or that your bank account has been hacked?
Maybe your computer needed a quick fix?
Let us know. marketplace@cbc.ca.
We're going to stay on the case.
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