Two Canadian banks, BMO and Simplii Financial, confirmed this week that they have been contacted by “scammers” who claim to be in possession of personal and financial information for tens of thousands of customers.
The Bank of Montreal (BMO) said in a brief statement that the data related to a “limited” number of customers, not exceeding 50,000.
“We believe the attack originated from a source outside the country. We took immediate action when the incident occurred and are confident that the security gaps related to customer data have been closed,” he added.
The bank is working with authorities and has contacted those who may have been affected. It also advises customers to carefully monitor their accounts for possible suspicious activity.
Simplii Financial, a subsidiary of Canada's Imperial Bank of Commerce, revealed that around 40,000 customers may have been affected after the attack.
It has also reached out to customers, urging them to monitor their accounts and always use a complex password and PIN on their accounts, as the bank does not use 2-factor authentication.
“We took this breach seriously and have taken action to further strengthen our monitoring and security procedures,” said Michael Martin, vice president of Simplii Financial. “We believe it is important to inform customers so they can also take the necessary steps to safeguard their information.”.
