Sneaky gift card fees; DNA test disasters

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CIBC is reimbursing customers who were dinged a $5 fee on top of e-gift cards

Catharine Murphy likes to send her friends and family e-gift cards for special occasions, to mark a holiday or to just say thank you.

"I'm the person who will always wish you a belated birthday," she said with a laugh, during an interview at her home in Oakville, Ont.

But last November, as she reviewed her CIBC Visa credit card statement, Murphy noticed an additional $5 charge below a $10 Tim Hortons gift card she'd purchased for her son, who is away at school.

She also saw another $5 charge for a second $10 Tim Hortons gift card she had purchased for her daughter.

Curious, she dug out her October Visa statement and discovered the bank had also dinged her $5 when she bought a $25 Starbucks e-gift card for a friend that month. A gift card she'd purchased in August did not have the extra fee.

Murphy called CIBC to inquire about the extra charges. After a lengthy conversation with a customer service representative, she learned they were "cash advance" fees, charged every time anyone purchased a gift card sold by a particular online company.

Murphy said it was "infuriating" to see a $5 cash advance fee on the purchase of a gift card a fee that was accruing interest from the day of purchase at a rate of 22.99 per cent not the usual 19.99 per cent charged on regular purchases only if the monthly credit card balance isn't paid off.

CIBC declined an interview request, but in a statement, a spokesperson said, "Some gift cards purchased through third-party sellers are treated as cash-like transactions which can result in a cash advance fee."

When Go Public asked the spokesperson for clarification, he said the fee was triggered by the transaction codes on some e-gift cards but wouldn't say why the charge suddenly kicked in last fall.

The bank said CIBC has now decided to scrap the fee, and will be automatically refunding cash advance charges for customers who used credit cards to purchase e-gift cards between Sept. 29, 2023, and Feb. 29, 2024.Read More

A Canadian DNA lab knew its paternity tests identified the wrong dads, but it kept selling them

A Canadian DNA laboratory knowingly delivered prenatal paternity test results that routinely identified the wrong biological fathers ruling out the real dads and left a trail of shattered lives around the globe, a CBC News investigation has found.

Harvey Tenenbaum, the owner of Viaguard Accu-Metrics, told a CBC producer with a hidden camera during a conversation in his office that prenatal paternity test results that his laboratory produced for about a decade were "never that accurate."

The hidden camera conversation unfolded in the midst of a months-long CBC News investigation into a years-long pattern of erroneous results produced by Viaguard's non-invasive prenatal paternity testing. The test if done correctly matches DNA from a fetus that is in a mother's blood with the biological father's DNA.

Viaguard, based in Toronto, sold its prenatal tests through various related online storefronts with names like Prenatal Paternities Inc. and Paternity Depot.

"The test was not that accurate," said Tenenbaum. "And we're leery of that test now."

Tenenbaum is 91 and still runs the laboratory, showing up onsite most days, answering phones and meeting with customers.

During the hidden camera encounter, he presented himself as a seasoned scientific expert who's seen it all, and, in a matter-of-fact tone, said he knew mistaken prenatal paternity results could inflict lasting damage on lives.

"There's a lot involved if it gets screwed up," Tenenbaum told the CBC News producer, who posed as a prospective customer seeking a paternity test.

He also described instances where Viaguard's tests were proven wrong during a birth.

"That has happened. Test the white guy and the baby came out Black, and the white guy's saying: 'What's going on here?'" said Tenenbaum.

When CBC News later directly approached Tenenbaum, he reversed himself, saying the tests were "accurate" and "perfect." He said he stopped selling them due to rising overhead costs.Read More

If the name Viaguard Accu-Metrics sounds familiar, it's becauseMarketplace haspreviouslytested its dog DNA tests. You'll never believe what breed our (human) reporter Travis Dhanraj was identified as. You can watch that story and more anytime onCBC Gem.

140 BMO customers say they're planning to sue after they lost $1.5M in transfer frauds

Elizabeth Bernas and her husband had planned to use the proceeds from their home sale to renovate their new house in Ajax, Ont., to pay for their children's university tuition and to go on a family vacation.

But before they could, they say someone accessed their Bank of Montreal account without authorization in late 2022 and withdrew more than $63,000 through a series of transfers that the bank won't reimburse.

"We were shocked," Bernas said. "We almost dropped on the floor."

BMO told Bernas it won't compensate them because the transfers appeared to have been made on their device, there were no failed login attempts to the account, and a malware scan of the computer didn't show any irregularities, according to a letter from the bank viewed by CBC News.

"We were just so depressed, sleepless nights," Bernas said. "We all want our money back."

Now, more than 140 customers with similar experiences from across the country formed a group with the plan of filing a class-action lawsuit against the bank. Collectively, they've lost more than $1.5 million, according to organizer Lisa Wong.

"We have people from all walks of life," she said. "We have new immigrants, we have professionals like doctors, engineers, and we have business owners."

"[BMO's security] is not protecting us against the growing, sophisticated cybercrime," said Wong, who lost $15,500, according to bank documents.

BMO spokesperson Jeff Roman said, like other banks around the world, BMO continually adapts to help customers stay ahead of cybercrime.

"In the digital world we live in, these scams are fast evolving and are becoming more sophisticated, targeting millions of Canadians with malicious texts and phone calls," Roman said.

"We realize how difficult it is when a customer unfortunately falls victim to these criminals, and we provide support based on the specifics of their individual cases and circumstances."

He says BMO is focused on detecting and preventing these situations when possible, but can't share details for security reasons.Read More

What else is going on?

You probably didn't win that boat: Tim Hortons says 'technical errors' falsely told people they won the Roll Up To Win prize
The coffee chain sent an email to contest participants on Wednesday, apologizing for the error.

Despite backlash, some Loblaw stores are still discounting perishable food by 30% not 50%
Loblaw says Real Canadian Superstores didn't offer 50 per cent discount previously, so they don't get it now.

Here are the 2024 federal budget's key takeaways
It's planning $8.5 billion for housing, more help for renting students, and taxing the wealthiest 0.13 per cent of Canadians.

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