This man lost his life savings to identity fraud. He doesn't know how it happened

Angela MacIvor · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

When Rick Hall discovered astir of his beingness savings had been drained from his slope account, helium suspected helium had been hacked. 

The archetypal hint came erstwhile his password didn't work. Then, erstwhile helium regained access, he saw that connected Feb. 17 a full of $28,710 had been transferred to an chartless recognition paper account.

"There was $249 near successful the slope account," Hall said. "It's rather shocking erstwhile you person bills to pay."

The 66-year-old Halifax, N.S., man said the theft amounted to much than his spouse makes successful a twelvemonth moving astatine McDonald's.

Cybersecurity adept Claudiu Popa said it's a classical lawsuit of individuality fraud.

"We telephone these relationship takeovers," helium said.

Popa, who is the CEO of Datarisk Canada and the laminitis of KnowledgeFlow, a cyber information foundation, said relationship takeovers person a dual purpose.

"One is to bargain the funds that are successful the slope account," helium said. "And the 2nd is to bargain much accusation due to the fact that accusation is valuable. Information is besides a currency."

About a period aft Hall reported the missing money, helium said an researcher with his slope Simplii Financial determined helium had been the unfortunate of fraud. On April 2, helium was reimbursed the afloat amount. During the full probe play in March, helium was incapable to retreat his pension payments due to the fact that the relationship was frozen.

"We person resolved this substance for our client, and admit the magnitude of the process successful this lawsuit caused added inconvenience, which we volition reappraisal arsenic we enactment to enactment our clients successful situations similar this one," said Benjamin Wylie, spokesperson for Simplii, successful a statement.

According to information from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, individuality fraud had the highest fig of reports among each types of fraud successful 2024 with 9,487 victims crossed the country. Among those cases, 106 were successful Nova Scotia. 

The anti-fraud centre said it doesn't way however overmuch wealth radical suffer successful individuality fraud cases due to the fact that it's usually excessively complicated.

"In a batch of cases, the fiscal instauration oregon the affected concern whitethorn sorb the losses," said Jeff Horncastle, lawsuit and communications outreach officer.

"It's hard to cognize precisely who is absorbing losses, who's responsible."

Hall said helium called Halifax Regional Police and spoke with an serviceman but ne'er heard back.

He said what frustrates him much is that helium hasn't received circumstantial details from the slope astir however idiosyncratic gained power of his slope account. CBC's questions to Simplii about however Hall's relationship was accessed besides went unanswered.

"They're trying to accidental it was my computer," said Hall. "I person each of the antiviruses, I person malware, each that connected there, and my machine is clean."

But Popa said those forms of online extortion aren't enough.

"No 1 releases a caller microorganism to the net without really investigating that it tin bypass antivirus," helium said. "So chances are, if each you beryllium connected is antivirus, you person nary warrant that your machine is clean."

Popa said determination is simply a signifier of malware called a keylogger that installs itself secretly erstwhile idiosyncratic clicks a malicious email nexus oregon opens an infected file.

"A keylogger oregon a information stealer is thing that watches your keyboard and, and arsenic soon arsenic you benignant successful your password and your username, it emails it to its owner, to the cyber criminals, and they tin usage it to effort to get into the account," helium said.

According to Popa, different vulnerability is simply having a anemic password oregon utilizing the aforesaid 1 for aggregate accounts. 

Hall insists his password was archetypal and contained nary idiosyncratic details. But present he's frightened to proceed banking online.

"It conscionable happens truthful often and cipher tin support connected apical of it. And the radical that are doing it, they person amended exertion astatine stealing than we person astatine preventing," helium said.

In the connection from Simplii, Wylie said the slope works actively to keep clients informed about safe banking practices and types of fraud they should beryllium connected the lookout for.  

"Protecting clients against fraud is simply a apical precedence for our squad which includes engaging and educating our clients connected the relation they play successful recognizing scams and protecting themselves against them — keeping idiosyncratic oregon banking accusation harmless and secure, and being wary of emails, substance messages oregon calls requesting idiosyncratic information," helium said.

Horncastle with the anti-fraud centre says there's "no magic way" to marque definite that banking accusation is safe.

"The champion we tin bash is stay proactive, verify your recognition report, support an oculus connected your slope accounts oregon your recognition paper statements," helium said.