Ontario student warns about losing debit card after $14,000 lands on RBC account

An Ontario student is warning people of the risk that comes with failing to report a lost debit card after $14,000 in fraudulent deposits landed in her RBC account.

College student Frances Ward said her bank card went missing last fall and she never noticed the activity because she mostly uses her phone to do mobile payments.

But someone used her bank card to deposit fake cheques, with the first one being for about $2,000.

Frances's mother Marilyn Ward also has her name on the account because she set it up with Frances.

Marilyn said the account does not have overdraft, so the fraudulent cheques should never have been allowed to be cashed, putting the account into a negative balance.

"I don't know why it was allowed to happen. The account does not have overdraft on it, so the first cheque went through and into overdraft and at the time it should have been stopped," said Marilyn.

Over a week in September 2021, a series of fake cheques were cashed totaling about $13,000, which with interest, the bank said, left them owing more than $14,000.

The Wards, who are customers with RBC, said the bank conducted an investigation into the cheques, but determined they would have to repay the money.

After CTV News Toronto contacted RBC, the Wards said they received a call from the bank saying they would no longer have to repay the funds.

According to the Wards, RBC initially said the debit card was not reported missing, and whoever had the card had to have known the secret access code.

"They basically said you are responsible for the missing money because they said, 'It is your card and your PIN (Personal Identification Number)," Frances said.

Frances said she doesn't know how anyone could have known her PIN.

"I didn't have it written down and it wasn’t my birthday," said Frances.

RBC then told the Wards in a letter that they would have to reimburse the bank the amount of the fake cheques, plus interest, totaling $14,071.

The Wards said they feel the bank should not have allowed the cheques to be cashed, and said they shouldn't be held accountable for the fraud.

"This is not money we have taken from the bank and we should not be held responsible," Frances said.

When CTV News reached out to RBC, Edith Galinaitis, Director of Communications with RBC, said, "We review client complaints regarding unauthorized transactions on a case-by-case basis. We also remind clients of the importance of protecting their PIN and client card and provide guidance on how to do that."

"In all instances, we work with the client throughout the process and keep them informed, as we did in this case," Galinaitis said. "We have shared our findings on this matter with our client, and explained the reasons for our decision, based on a careful review of the relevant facts."

It's not clear why the bank reversed its decision to ask the Wards to repay the funds.

"I'm so happy that this has been cleared up," Marilyn said, "as it has been going on over nine or 10 months. It is such a relief."