A young woman from Jonquière who fell victim to phishing had to fight Desjardins for more than two months to recover her $2,000 savings. After Lee’s questions, it was late yesterday afternoon record, He promised to refund the money.
“What a gift! exclaimed Catherine Giguere, still not recovered from the emotion of winning her case.
In an emotional interview hours earlier, Visa said she felt “fooled, deceived, but most of all, abandoned” by Desjardins.
A trained sommelier warned her credit card issuer about an expensive adventure that nearly compromised her dream of studying in France.
In light of the questions raised Newspaper Yesterday, the Desjardins investigation team finally reviewed its file.
“Refunds may be confirmed to the cardholder,” a corporate spokesperson said in a statement.
A dream apartment
Catherine Giguere’s troubles began last September when she found an apartment suitable for her studies in the wine capital of Bordeaux.
Screenshot provided by Catherine Giguere
Photograph of the accommodation in the ad.
As advertised by a major French real estate rental site, a small studio in the heart of the city center costs only 500 euros per month.
So Quebecer contacted the owner, who sent a link to proceed “by reservation.”
As seen Newspaper, The website looked remarkably like the “real” one, and the listing for the accommodation had over 100 comments from previous visitors.
Screenshot provided by Catherine Giguere
The website was the same as Booking.com, except the address was Booking.rent-longterm.com.
Gaining confidence, the young woman agrees to transfer to her host to secure a booking for April through international exchange platform Vice.
He paid 500 euros for the first month, and 1000 euros as a deposit, or over $2000 to the so-called owner in Canada… and then he disappeared with his money.
A few days later, the Signal Scams site listed three suspected scam attempts using the same instructions he received.
Panicked, Catherine Giguere went to her parents’ basement and tried everything to recover the money she had saved.
He failed his financial adviser, the Saguenay Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a lawyer…
Lack of empathy
According to him, Visa Desjardins refused to reimburse an individual on the pretext that he had made the transaction on his own volition.
“I regret the lack of information, understanding and empathy on their part. To them, $2,000 is a drop in the bucket,” maintains the customer service worker.
Like many Quebecers in recent days, he laments that the steps taken by victims of fraud to assert their rights are often arbitrary and frustrating.
Protect yourself from online fraud
- Always check if the URL address is the official website address.
- Never click on links received via text or email.
- Also, do not click on links or links that contain viruses and spyware.
- Do not post personal information on social media.
- Also be wary of emails with typos and formatting errors.
Source: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
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