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RBC and CIBC Permit 89-Year-Old to Deplete Life Savings, Lose $1.7M to Scammers
An 89-year-old man’s family is questioning why RBC and CIBC allowed him to deplete his $1.7-million life savings, despite assurances to protect seniors from fraud.
Ray Anholt from Victoria recently turned 90 but found little joy as he fell victim to one of Canada’s largest bank investigator scams, leaving him almost destitute.
Within six months last year, Anholt lost nearly $1.7 million of his life savings.
The scam featured fake bank representatives, forged official documents from government entities and politicians, stacks of cash, large bank drafts, gold bars, and couriers. The most shocking part was that despite warning signs, two major banks allowed a vulnerable elder to empty his accounts, according to Anholt’s daughter.
“They stood by as this 89-year-old gentleman withdrew all his funds,” Jill Anholt expressed to Go Public, visibly enraged.
While Ray’s loss was substantial, he is not alone.
In the previous year, Canadians collectively lost over $643 million to bank fraud, a surge of almost 300% since 2020. With scams becoming more sophisticated, experts highlight that our financial institutions are trailing behind those in countries with superior safeguards.
“This issue has persisted for years, and we’ve only seen minimal progress,” remarked Democracy Watch co-founder and bank accountability advocate Duff Conacher.
Both CIBC and Royal Bank, where Ray held an account, declined interview requests. In written statements, both banks asserted having robust measures in place to safeguard and alert clients in case of suspected fraud.