$ 10,000 is paid into a “new account” without his knowledge

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center has collected more than 2,500 complaints of identity theft related to the Canadian Emergency Benefit (CEP), including more than a third in Quebec, where fraudsters continue to be rife.

The province has by far the highest number of cases in the country with 949 cases of fraudulently obtained PKU as of August 31, according to the most recent data available Wednesday from the Center.

For a recent victim, the massive theft of personal data to which Desjardins Group was a victim in 2019 is undoubtedly no stranger to this situation.

A few days ago, Jean-Philippe Boulet received a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). He was informed that a change in bank account had been made to his file and that, of course, without his knowledge, five months of ECPs, or $ 10,000, had been paid into the new account.

“This is indeed my account number at Desjardins [qui a été subtilisé], says the 35-year-old. It is in connection with [Desjardins], in my opinion. There have been so many data breaches. “

No request

The co-owner of Le Fougasse restaurant in Sorel-Tracy has worked tirelessly since the start of the pandemic.

So he never needed to ask for federal help.

“When I was informed, it had been three weeks since it was in the fraudster’s account,” he laments. It took three days before I got the phone line with the CRA to notify them. “

The latter also strongly doubts the security measures taken by the federal government to avoid possible fraud. According to him, the deception was obvious to detect.

“I can’t believe someone got $ 10,000 so easily. It is really obvious; a retroactive request at once in a different account. If I had needed it, I would have made the request in March, ”denounces the restaurateur.

File to the eye

Since knowing that his identity has been usurped, Mr. Boulet says he has heard a dozen similar testimonies, only in his entourage.

“This money must be impossible to trace,” he believes. In the long run, that’s a lot of taxpayer dollars. “

He now fears having to suffer the repercussions of this unfortunate situation.

“The consequences, am I going to have them?” Will I have a stain on my file and need to clean up my image? He asks himself. Le Sorelois suggests that everyone check their file with the CRA in the event that a request to receive PKU has been made without their knowledge.

– With the collaboration of Antoine Lacroix