Winnipeg man loses more than $600K in alleged wire-transfer fraud

Peter Squire never imagined what it would be like to lose his retirement savings of more than $600,000 to a fraudster.

But now that it's happened, the Winnipeg retiree is dealing with the shock and wants to warn other people about what happened.

"You're devastated.… Your whole life ahead of you is turned upside down, because that's what you're relying on in your retirement to do the things you were planning," Squire, 68, told CBC News.

The Manitoba Securities Commission confirms it is investigating and calls this a case of "brand hijacking," which is described as "a sophisticated criminal pretending to be a well-known financial organization or bank."

Squire said the trouble began with an unexpected phone call he got at work on Halloween day in 2022, as he was preparing to retire from a 31-year career as an executive in the real estate sector.

He had been looking around for the best investments to make with his savings, or as he calls it, his "retirement nest egg." He made inquiries with several banks and credit unions and searched online for the best rates.

Caller claimed to be portfolio manager

The Oct. 31 phone call was from a man who identified himself as a senior investment portfolio manager with a major Canadian bank, BMO.

After looking up the caller's name and finding it did match a senior investment counsellor with BMO, Squire decided to do business with him.

"He offered an older Canada Savings Bond issue at a little bit of a higher rate," Squire said.

"This is how these people exploit seniors or other Canadians and dupe them out of their money.

"It was all designed to remove me of my money and say it was a legitimate, older savings bond that I could purchase through him and that he can facilitate that."

Squire made two wire transfers in November 2022 from his Access Credit Union account in Winnipeg, thinking the money would go into an RBC bank account in Ontario, in the name of a company called B21 Trade (Canada) Ltd.

The first transfer was $175,000 and the second one a few days later was $473,290.08, for a total of more than $648,000.

Squire, who said he'd never done a wire transfer before, thinks the money went from his Access Credit Union account in Winnipeg to the RBC business account in Toronto, and then to a Citibank account in Hong Kong.

It was an RBC employee who informed him he'd likely been defrauded.

Although Squire had looked up the name of the man who phoned him about making the investment and found it was indeed the name of an investment counsellor, it turned out that was not the person on the phone.

Squire contacted Winnipeg police.

"Emotionally, you don't sleep. I've had a lot of restless nights, and you go back, and a lot of recrimination. What could I have done?" he said.

He said police identified a suspect who had been in Ontario at the time, but who is from Wales.

Victims feel embarrassed

"People are going to say 'This guy's an idiot.' And I know, and that's why people never report it or are so embarrassed," he said.

"Maybe that's the best thing I can do is at least, hopefully, warn other people."

In addition to Winnipeg police, Squire has been in touch with the RCMP, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the Manitoba Securities Commission, Toronto police and Hong Kong police.

Although Squire says a suspect was identified, none of the police services said charges had been laid.

"The WPS is no longer involved in this investigation," Winnipeg police Const. Dani McKinnon told CBC in an email, referring CBC to the RCMP integrated market enforcement team in Toronto.

An RCMP Ontario spokesperson told CBC they can't provide information because they generally don't confirm or deny an investigation is happening unless criminal charges are laid.

Manitoba RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Paul Manaigre said their file is closed.

"Our Hong Kong liaison officer was requested to liaise with WPS to provide information to the Hong Kong Police as it looks like this is where the money may have been sent to. File was then closed as the assistance was no longer required."

A BMO spokesperson said they filed a police report about the impersonation of the employee whose name was used in the fraud, and they encourage all victims of fraud to do the same.

"This is an unfortunate situation where the fraudsters illegally impersonated an investment professional to an individual who is not connected with our bank," spokesperson Jeff Roman said in an email. "The fraudulent activity did not occur on our systems."

Squire thinks Access Credit Union staff didn't do enough due diligence or ask enough questions when he was sending large wire transfers — something he had not done before.

"There were no questions — you know, they weren't showing any concern or wondering why I was doing this," Squire said.

'We stand by our efforts': Access

Access chief marketing officer Adam Monteith told CBC for privacy reasons, they won't comment on specific cases, but they're confident staff follow policy and procedure when serving credit union members.

"We stand by our efforts to provide guidance and advice to all of our members in any financial situation," Monteith said.

"This could include requiring assurances that due diligence was completed, having multiple staff review and advise on large transactions, the offering of alternative products with lower risk potential, and soliciting expertise from other financial experts," he said.

"We also understand that we cannot present barriers to members who are intent on making a decision with their funds. Our intention is to make banking easier for members while respecting their decision making, ensuring that they are informed and protected with our expertise."

Manitoba Securities Commission spokesperson Ainsley Cunningham told CBC News they do have an open investigation in the case, but they can't provide specifics.

"Once money goes offshore, it becomes extremely difficult to retrieve," she said.

Squire wants to see improved regulations to protect Canadians, especially retirees, from being duped out of their savings through fraud. Other countries, such as the U.K., have more effective regulations than Canada, he said.

He created a petition calling for more stringent banking procedures, and it was tabled in the House of Commons in 2023 by Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoureux.

Lamoureux said he has raised the issue with the Liberal caucus with a view to looking into how financial institutions could help prevent fraudulent activity in the future.

"I believe there should be an obligation on financial institutions to be more diligent on withdrawals that are outside the norm," Lamoureux told CBC.

'You're a victim … and it's not your fault'

Vanessa Iafolla, a principal at Anti-fraud Intelligence Consulting in Halifax who helps fraud victims and is an expert witness in civil litigation for such cases, said credit unions and banks have an obligation to help clients avoid investment fraud.

"It's on you to take the reins," she said of credit unions and banks. "It's up to you to make sure that you're protecting everybody. Not just yourselves, but you're protecting all Canadians."

In fraud cases Iafolla has seen, successful police investigations are rare.

"That's not to say that they're never successful. There are cases where they have been successful," she said. "Jurisdictional issues really compound this problem."

In Squire's case, there are police from more than one province involved, and the case also extends outside of Canada.

"That border really does a lot to put up blocks for the police, and fraudsters know that. And they play with geography intentionally, just to obscure their trail even further."

The amount of money Squire lost is not unusual in such cases, Iafolla said, and she's seen people lose millions of dollars.

Victims should show some compassion for themselves, she said.

"From what I see in practice, the experience is so universal — shame, regret, fear, anxiety, worry, social isolation, judgment — all of these things that people experience. And you're a victim of a crime, and it's not your fault," Iafolla said.

Nearly $170M in wire transfer fraud in 2023

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says in 2023, it received reports of 1,608 victims losing a total of almost $170 million when wire transfers were sent to fraudsters.

In Manitoba, the anti-fraud centre had reports of 1,009 victims losing money in various types of fraud in 2023.

RBC spokesperson Rob Merk also said fraud creates a difficult and stressful situation for victims.

"While we cannot speak to the specifics of this situation for privacy reasons, we can advise that we co-operate with law enforcement in their investigations," he said.

People who believe they are victims should report fraud immediately to their financial institutions, police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, he said.