‘Easy to fall for it’: Fredericton woman who lost $15K in scam warning others

A Fredericton woman is speaking out after scammers not only bilked her out of $15,000, but were also brazen enough to come to her home and take the money.

Wilhelmina Brostowski says the experience has her feeling “dumb” and shocked at how easy it was to fall for the scam.

It all began with what appeared to be a pop-up on her banking app.

“(It said) I had to call the Bank of Montreal. So I called the number which was on there. And that’s where the whole thing started,” she said.

She was told the bank needed money to create a new account after hers was frozen due to an alleged child pornography investigation.

She spoke to at least two different people on the phone, and the situation spiralled from there.

“I got kind of scared. So I talked to the person, and then they said it had something also to do with my social insurance number and they were trying to help me,” she said.

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“I guess I was foolish enough to accept it.”

The scammers told her they needed to open a new bank account for her, and “kept calling and talking very nicely” to her.

So she headed to the bank and withdrew the cash, and was even instructed by the scammers to tell the bank she needed the money for renovations.

“It’s so easy — easy to fall for it,” she said. “I felt like sh-t that I was dumb enough to fall for it.”

Doorbell camera video shows the moment a man, wearing black sweatpants and a black sweater, approaches Wilhelmina’s house to collect the cash.

By the time her son, Michael Brostowski, returned home from vacation, he discovered his 78-year-old mother had lost $15,000.

Michael, who has power of attorney, questions why the bank so easily approved the withdrawal.

“I think they didn’t properly do their due diligence in this,” he said.

A spokesperson from Bank of Montreal could not comment on the specific case, citing privacy reasons, but said customers should “always exercise caution” and treat any urgent requests as “suspicious.”

“Scammers go to great lengths to manipulate people, and it’s more important than ever for customers to be cautious and disclose any unusual requests or unusual interactions with their bank prior to completing any transactions,” wrote Jeff Roman.

Michael said he’s surprised his mother, who he described as “very sharp,” was the victim of such a scam.

But data shows she’s far from alone.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, New Brunswickers have lost close to $7 million to scams so far this year. Of the more than 500 reported scams, 45 per cent involved people over the age of 60.

Meanwhile, the Fredericton Police Force says they’re investigating multiple reports of fraud. The scams include fake grandchildren needing help and extortion scams where victims are threatened with police action.

Officers advise people to block the numbers and report incidents to police.

Wilhelmina said she’s speaking out in hopes of helping others.

“I hope that people don’t fall for this. It’s scary what’s out there,” she said.