Double trouble after $150,000 taken from pensioner’s BNS accountDear Claudienne,

I have a joint account with my mother, who is a pensioner, at the Port Antonio branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS).

In February 2017, the account was cloned and $150,000 was stolen from it. We discovered that the money was missing when I used my online app to view the account after my father was denied access to the account.

A former policewoman, my mother tore a muscle in her leg in 2010. The injury disabled her and she took early retirement from the police force. She now uses a walker and is unable to go to the bank to do transactions on the account. Since I do not live in Portland, her husband (my father) has been using my mother’s ATM card to lodge and withdraw money from the account on her behalf. I should point out that my father is not actually a joint account holder.

On discovering that $150,000 was missing from the account, I called the BNS branch in Port Antonio and reported the theft.

They blocked the ATM card and told me to come in and sign a dispute form.

After I signed the form I was told that because it was my mother’s card that had been compromised, she would have to come in and sign the form. I explained to the bank that my mom was sick and unable to move around freely. I told them that my father used her ATM card to do the transactions for her because I did not reside in Portland.

The bank then told me that they could not process the claim because my father’s name was not on the account. I was also told that my mother had committed a breach by allowing my father to use her card, and so the bank could not reimburse her.

I was informed that my mother and I would need to come in with my father to add his name to the account.

We went to the bank and added my father’s name to the account, at great cost, as we had to charter a taxi to transport my mother to the bank with her walker. However, the bank has still refused to honour the claim.

It is quite easy to prove that my father did not steal the money, because using my online app I was able to see where the money was pulled from. The account was cloned in Hopewell, Hanover. My parents live in Portland and have never been to Hanover. Even after the account was blocked, I could still see where attempts were being made – at ATMs in Lucea, Bogue, Bay West, Gloucester, Ocho Rios and Drax Hall – to take money from my mother’s account. Some of these ‘transactions’ were actually being done while I was in the Port Antonio branch of BNS. I even went as far as to ask the authorities at the bank if we couldn’t still sign the dispute form and have them investigate the matter, but their response was a resounding NO.

It seems to me that the bank is using a convenient loophole to prevent them from paying back my mother’s hard-earned cash, even though they are partly at fault for not putting adequate security measures in place.  

I also have three other concerns.

(1)When my mom and I opened the account, the amount which could be taken from the account was $15,000 per day. However, the thieves were able to take $50,000 per day from the account.

When I asked the bank about this, I was told that the amount was increased six months ago. We were not aware that the daily withdrawal amount had been increased. In fact, there were times when our business had to be delayed because we needed more than the stipulated $15,000, but had to wait until the next day to get more money.

(2) My father has been doing business for a long time on my mother’s behalf. Although he was not a joint holder of the BNS  account, in October/November 2016 the Port Antonio BNS branch allowed him to lodge to his wife’s account an NIS cheque  which my mother had not signed. How could he have done this if he had not been authorised to do so?

(3) My mother gave him access to the card, so how could this be unauthorised access?

 I would like to ensure that we didn’t give up without exploring every avenue, and to highlight what is going on so that another ailing, unsuspecting pensioner is not caught unawares

  I would greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter.

AA

Dear AA,

Tell Claudienne has been in communication with Scotiabank about your concerns.

On April 13, we received an e-mail from Scotiabank that stated the following:

“We appreciate the opportunity you have afforded us by bringing this matter to our attention. We have since contacted our customer and the matter has been addressed with her.

We take every case of account of compromise seriously and we have been on an active drive to remind customers of the importance of protecting their banking information, especially their PINs that give others direct access to their accounts.  

Please allow us an opportunity to remind customers of how best to keep their Debit Cards secure.

o    Your PIN  must be kept strictly confidential and should never be revealed to anyone, including any law enforcement agency, bank employee, or even close family members or friends.

o    We recommend that you memorise your PIN and do not write it down.

o    Keep your bank card in a safe place and never let anyone else use it.

o    Always make sure that you can see your card at all times when you are using it for a point of sale (POS) transaction.

o    Immediately change your PIN at the branch where you maintain your account, or call us and we will de-activate your card, if you suspect that someone has had access to it.

o    Use your free hand or body to shield the entry of your PIN at ATMs and point of sale (POS) machines.

o    Regularly check your account statements and balances to verify that all transactions have been properly recorded. If entries do not accurately reflect your transaction activities, such as missing or additional transactions, you should contact your branch or call our contact centre immediately.

o    Notify the bank immediately, by telephone and in writing, of the loss, theft or any unauthorised use of your ScotiaCard banking card or electronic signature.

We thank you for sharing on this very important issue, and encourage all customers to take all available steps to safeguard their accounts and to monitor their account activity online to ensure that no unauthorised transactions take place.

As it pertains to increases in the ATM withdrawal limits, customers would have been advised of these adjustments in branch.”

Tell Claudienne notes that since we received the e-mail from Scotiabank, the manager of the BNS Port Antonio branch has phoned and informed you that in view of your mother’s long-standing relationship with the bank, her account would be reimbursed the $150,000 that was stolen from the account.

Please try to adhere strictly to the bank’s policy in future.

We wish you all the best.

Have a problem with a store, utility or company? Telephone 936-9436 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail:edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.