Attack on Canadian banks: BMO, CIBC’s Simplii warn of similar possible client data breach

BMO and Simplii Financial, which is CIBC’s direct banking brand, are warning that “fraudsters” may have accessed some customer accounts.

BMO said it received a claim on Sunday, May 27 that the personal and financial information of “a limited number of customers” had been illegally accessed. The bank said it believes the attack originated from outside the country.

READ MORE: BMO, Simplii attack: Canadians describe illicit Interac e-transfers out of Simplii accounts

The bank said it is “confident” that “exposures identified related to customer data have been closed off.”

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The warning from BMO follows similar news from Simplii, which said fraudsters may have electronically accessed data from 40,000 client accounts.

Simplii said it has implemented additional online security measures as it continues to investigate. The changes include enhanced online fraud monitoring and online banking security measures.

READ MORE: CIBC sees bumpy transition of PC Financial accounts to Simplii

Both banks said they are reaching out to clients and advised customers who notice any unusual activity to get in touch.

A message appearing on the Simplii app on Monday says that “fraudsters may send messages asking for personal information.” The bank said to send any suspicious correspondence to fraud@simplii.com.

Simplii said that clients who are victims of fraud because of the issue will receive 100 per cent of the money lost from the affected bank account. It added that there is no indication that clients who bank through CIBC have been affected.

With files from the Canadian Press