'Dead end': Local woman loses $3,000 in e-transfer fraud

A former Orillia firefighter is feeling desperate months after falling victim to an alleged e-transfer fraud.

On Sept. 15, 2022, Debbie Sammit noticed that $3,000 had been e-transferred out of her account without her authorization.

"I have no idea how it could happen," she said. "I lay in bed awake at night fearing that it could happen again."

Sammit, 57, reported the incident to her bank, BMO Canada, where she has been a customer for 40 years. She also reported it to the Orillia OPP detachment.

"They said it would be investigated as a fraud," she explained. "It took two-and-a-half months for the bank to tell me the funds were sent to a TD Bank account and they don't communicate with them."

It was found by BMO's fraud department that the e-transfer was made using Sammit's internet protocol (IP) address.

"I still don't know how it happened," she said. "I'm still fighting to get it back."

After dealing with the fraud departments at both BMO and TD Bank, Sammit says she is left feeling helpless with no answers. She says she has been treated like a "criminal" through the investigations. 

"I was told they are busy and short-staffed," she said. "Every department that I would go to, they would give me the royal run around. I would wait on hold, tell them the story, they would tell me to call a different department, and then they would patch me through and hang up on me."

Police secured a warrant to speak with the recipient of the e-transfer who claimed to know nothing about it.

"The police said they are so busy and have so many other things going on," Sammit said. "The officer said, 'Sorry, I guess we are at a dead end.'"

During the pandemic, Sammit lost her $75,000 investment into her business, Pretty Woman Fitness, which she owned for 14 years. After working four jobs to pay off the deficit, losing $3,000 is a significant blow, she says.

"I needed some money for Christmas, so I called the bank and said I need my $3,000 back," she explained. "They said I can get a line of credit with seven percent interest, but why am I paying interest on money that I already worked for and paid for BMO to keep safe?"

Sammit, a graduate of Park Street Collegiate Institute, says she can't believe this has happened to her.

"I worked as a firefighter for 14 years and went into burning buildings to pull people out," she said. "I put my money from that in the bank, and now somebody, who I don't even know, has it."

The Orillia OPP did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story prior to publication.