Bulletin: Protect yourself online

As you may have heard, fraudsters recently claimed to have access to the personal and account information of some BMO and Simplii Financial clients. You can read BMO’s statement here and Simplii’s here.

Both banks have said that they will fully reimburse customers for any financial impact of any unauthorized transactions.

The banks are investigating these claims and reaching out to potentially affected customers and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is monitoring the situation.

What to do if you think you might be affected

• Change your account password and security questions and any other accounts that share the same password and questions.
• Contact your bank.
  • You can reach BMO through your local branch or at 1-888-725-9801 (English) and 1-888-725-9802 (French)
  • You can reach Simplii Financial at 1-888-723-8881
• Monitor your accounts closely and consider using a credit monitoring service to watch for any new accounts or loans. If you have been affected, BMO and Simplii will pay for these credit monitoring services.
• Report any suspicious activity to your bank immediately.

How to protect yourself from security breaches

• Always use unique and complex passwords, PINs and security questions that are hard to guess.
• Review your bank and credit card statements often and inform your bank immediately if there are any mistakes or unusual transactions.
• Set a password on any device you use to access your online banking.
• Avoid accessing your online banking while using public wifi.
• Always log out once you’ve completed your session on your bank’s website.
• If you receive a suspicious email, call your bank to verify the source before following the instructions or clicking on any links.

How to spot signs of fraud

• Banks will never ask for your PIN or online password. They will also never ask for your account numbers or passwords via email.
• Banks will never prompt you to click on a link using urgent language, like “Your account has been suspended, click here immediately to reactivate your account.”
• Fraudulent emails will often have spelling and grammar mistakes.
• Notice the email address of the sender. Be cautious if the email’s “from” field is someone with whom you have never communicated before, or if it is not from a source you recognize.

Helpful resources

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: How to protect yourself from fraud and scams
• Public Safety Canada: Cyber security

BMO and Simplii Financial guarantee reimbursement for losses through online banking for those following their service agreements. If you are unsatisfied with the bank’s response, please contact OBSI.