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Simplii bank hack left Sarnia man with $2.86 in his account

Fernando Penedo says he realized someone stole nearly all of the money in his account when he bought ice cream last week.

90,000 Simplii, BMO customers had their bank accounts hacked

CBC News ·
Fernando Penedo said hackers drained his bank account of nearly all his money on Tuesday, May 29. (Submitted by Fernando Penedo)

Fernando Penedo knew he had enough money for some ice cream on a hot day, so it took him by surprise when his transaction was denied.

His girlfriend covered the cost of the cones — and then Penedo found out his bank account was essentially drained. 

"I had $2.86 left for me, and all my other funds were drawn from my account from a random name that I've never heard of," said Penedo. 

He called Simplii financial, who confirmed he was one of thousands of customers who had their accounts hacked and funds withdrawn. 

"I was never really sure I was going to get it back," said Penedo, who closed his account with Simplii and opened a second account. 

He was told it would take 5 to 10 business days get his money back. 

'You think your money is safe'

"It was very stressful to say the least," said Penedo, who said he was shocked to see his money disappear. 

"You think your money is safe in a bank and it's just shocking. Overall, it's really shocking."

Last year, more than two million PC Financial customers moved to CIBC, which rebranded the bank as Simplii. (CBC)

He said that it took about 48 hours to get his money back into his account and had nothing but praise for the way Simplii acted. 

"I don't know why I was targeted specifically but they dealt with it pretty well. I was very happy with the customer service and how they recouped the funds in a quick manner, anyways."

Secure, safe

"If a client is a victim of fraud because of this issue, we will return 100 per cent of the money lost from the affected bank account," said Simplii Financial senior vice-president Michael Martin in a statement earlier this week.

"We feel that it is important to inform clients so that they can also take additional steps to safeguard their information," Martin said.

Penedo said he's secure and safe with his banking online and doesn't expect to change his habits.

"It's still a little bit of a shock and you know I'm still glancing at my bank account to make sure funds are still there."

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