TD Bank Holds Dartmouth Customer Liable for $15,000 in Fraudulent E-Transfers After Ombudsman Declines Compensation

Shakir Ahamed, who handles payroll for the Canadian Coast Guard in the Maritimes, received a text from TD Bank in July 2025 warning that he was approaching the limit on his line of credit. , and learned that a series of unauthorized “accept request” e-transfers had moved nearly $15,000 out of the account over three days in increments of about $1,500. ca.

Ahamed said he did not recognize the addresses and had not received any of the ten one-time passcodes the bank later said were sent to his phone. TD Bank told Ahamed the transactions were authenticated through two-factor verification and originated from his IP address and regular device. ” Ahamed contacted TD’s fraud department and filed a report with Halifax Regional Police.

A few weeks later the bank informed him by text that he was responsible for the loss. He appealed the decision and took the case to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, which did not recommend compensation because his sign-in credentials had been used.

Cybersecurity expert Claudiu Popa, author of the Canadian Cyberfraud Handbook, said TD has not demonstrated that Ahamed was negligent.

“No evidence of negligence was provided by the banking institution,” Popa stated. He added that spoofing devices is “actually very easy” and that banks are increasingly placing responsibility on customers without showing supporting evidence. The same email addresses had appeared in earlier reports by Thorold Today linking them to at least two other TD fraud cases last summer.

Lost nearly $10,000 and was later reimbursed after signing a non-disclosure agreement. , lost $3,000; TD offered her half the amount. One month before the July transfers, someone had attempted to e-transfer $1,900 from Ahamed’s account.

A TD teller recovered the money and told him additional security measures had been added. Ahamed’s banking records show mostly small transactions, not repeated $1,500 withdrawals from his line of credit. TD has begun collecting payments on the debt, including more than $100 a month in interest.

The loss equals almost one-third of Ahamed’s annual salary. ” The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported that Canadians lost a record $704 million to fraud last year, up from $638 million in 2024, and estimates that only five to 10 per cent of victims report such crimes.