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The cellphone call came while Katya Feder was working from home on a Friday afternoon last April.

The caller said she was from the Bank of Montreal, and that she wanted to verify a large payment to crypto.com, a platform where cryptocurrencies are traded.

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Feder, a federal government research scientist, said she had not authorized any such payment from her bank account. The caller warned Feder her bank card must have been compromised and that a new one would have to be issued.

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To make that happen and confirm her identify, the caller said, she required Feder to provide the number of a one-time passcode she was about to send. The passcode was received moments later, and Feder supplied it. A new card would be sent in the mail, the woman said, and Feder’s bank account frozen in the meantime.

The call was over in a few minutes.

Feder thought she had averted trouble. But a visit to her local BMO branch days later — to understand the whereabouts of her new bank card — began a months-long odyssey to recover the $14,500 that had just been stolen from her account and sent overseas via a global money transfer.

Feder was disappointed to learn last month that BMO had closed the file on her case without offering compensation of any kind.

“We’re not going to be in the poorhouse, but for me, it’s a matter of principle: The bank is not taking any responsibility,” said Feder.

According to BMO, the agreement that governs Feder’s bank account states that she must keep secret codes and account information confidential. It contends she did not sufficiently safeguard her banking information.

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“A transaction that happened because you did not protect your information is not considered fraudulent, and is something for which you are responsible,” wrote Angela Henriques, a BMO investigator. “As such, we have no basis to recommend that BMO compensate for the disputed global money transfer.”

BMO was unsuccessful in its attempt to recover Feder’s money from the receiving bank in the United Kingdom, Henriques said, but would continue its efforts.

Feder appealed the bank’s decision and even wrote to the bank’s board of directors — all to no avail.

She argues the bank should have imposed a stricter limit on global money transfers or subjected them to better scrutiny — particularly since she never made such a transfer in her 40 years as a BMO customer.

“They took no responsibility for not flagging this suspicious money transfer,” she said, noting that credit card companies such as Visa and MasterCard are quick to identify and question unusual transactions.

BMO advertises a “100 per cent electronic banking guarantee” that promises to reimburse customers for any losses to personal bank accounts from unauthorized online or mobile banking transactions.

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But the guarantee is subject to several conditions, including that customers store their passwords and debit cards separately, and never knowingly disclose their passwords or debit card numbers.

BMO’s electronic banking services agreement warns customers: “You are responsible for the full amount of all authorized activity resulting from the use of your account or secret ID code by any person. Careless handling of your card or mobile device that you registered with us for electronic banking services, or secret ID code can result in serious financial losses.”

The same agreement also cautions customers that BMO employees will never ask for a verification code during an unsolicited phone call.

“Furthermore,” the agreement reads, “you agree that you will never provide a caller with a verification code if you receive an unsolicited call claiming to be from BMO and/or the person is claiming to be an employee of Bank of Montreal.”

BMO spokesman Jeff Roman noted that one-time passcodes are always accompanied by a warning, which reminds customers that the code grants access to online bank accounts. “Calls to request it may be a scam,” it reads. “If called, hang up and dial the number on your BMO card.”

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Feder contends she did not share her bank card number or password with anyone, and rarely uses the card when shopping. (She uses her credit card.)

She believes the bank bears responsibility for her lost money.

“This fraudulent withdrawal clearly resulted from security and notification weaknesses at BMO,” she argued. “It is unreasonable and unethical to put the onus on the customer to detect sophisticated fraud operations when the bank’s security system is clearly inadequate.”

Feder said she has lost confidence in BMO, and has decided to move her accounts — and those of her three children — to another bank.

“I’m very vigilant so I always thought I was the last person this could happen to,” she said. “I was totally shaken by this. I’m extremely angry, frustrated, disgusted.

“Here we are, $14,500 lifted out of my account, and there’s nothing that can be done? What did I do wrong? I answered the phone and I believed the person.”

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians lost more than $550 million to scam artists last year. More than 40,000 people were victimized.

Andrew Duffy is a National Newspaper Award-winning reporter and long-form feature writer based in Ottawa. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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