TD Bank has launched a full investigation after a thief was able to withdraw $17,000 from a B.C. woman’s account using only a stolen driver’s licence.
Heather Wallace Barnes’s wallet was stolen from her purse while she was working in her Port Moody store, Pinball Alley Vintage, on Oct. 30, 2014.
“I cancelled all the cards, I notified the banks, I did everything I needed to do,” Barnes said.
She thought the ordeal was over, but late last month a woman started walking into TD Bank branches and emptying out Barnes’ chequing account and line of credit – just using her ID.
“All of a sudden what happened in October has come back to haunt me,” she said. “I thought maybe she had a debit card replaced using my ID, but [the bank] said she just walked in using my ID and was able to withdraw substantial amounts of money.”
Over a period of five days, the thief visited eight different TD Bank branches, made 12 withdrawals, and walked away with a total of $17,000 using Barnes’s driver’s licence.
Barnes wants to know why all the activity on her account didn’t raise red flags.
“Anyone at TD could have seen the pattern was very irregular or suspicious. Who goes to the bank and withdraws $5,000 in one day from branches all over town?” she said.
“She better look a lot like me.”
TD Bank told CTV News it’s actively investigating and the case, and that Barnes will get her $17,000 back.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson
