Simplii Financial reports a cyber attack
Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth
BMO Financial Group and Simplii Financial say that some customer data appears to have been exposed in a cyber attack incident.
The incidents both took place Sunday and both banks issued statements Monday saying they are working with relevant authorities and have contacted customers who may have been affected.
The total number of customers who may have been affected is less than 100,000 across the two lenders.
The full BMO statement reads:
“On Sunday, May 27, fraudsters contacted BMO claiming that they were in possession of certain personal and financial information for a limited number of customers. We believe they originated the attack from outside the country.
We took steps immediately when the incident occurred and we are confident that exposures identified related to customer data have been closed off.
We have notified and are working with relevant authorities as we continue to assess the situation. We are proactively contacting those customers that may have been impacted and we will support and stand by them.
BMO has strong and robust processes in place to protect customer data and we take customer privacy very seriously. Customers are recommended to monitor their accounts and notify BMO with any suspicious activity.”
Simplii Financial’s SVP Michael Martin said that the safety and security of customer accounts is the firm’s top priority.
“We want to assure you that if you are affected by fraud because of this issue, we will return 100% of the money lost from the affected Simplii account,” he said in a statement.
Customers are urged to monitor their accounts for any unusual activity.
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