Scam Reimbursements and Crime Stoppers Data Breach Raise Questions About Consumer Protection

Why two scam victims got radically different outcomes

A scam can cost the same thing in two countries and still leave victims with very different chances of getting their money back. That’s the central point in CBC’s Marketplace investigation: the rules around reimbursement can matter as much as the scam itself. Asif Mohammed lost $7,200 in Canada this spring and wasn’t reimbursed. In the U.K., Samantha Bradshaw lost £11,000 — nearly $21,000 Cdn — after scammers posed as employees of her financial institution. Her bank returned the money within days. British banks are legally required to reimburse most customers who lose money to scams; Canadian banks have no equivalent obligation. That difference leaves Canadians with less protection and gives British banks a stronger incentive to pursue fraudsters. CBC’s David Common and Nelisha Vellani reported on the cases. Their investigation raises a blunt question: when banks aren’t required to repay customers, what pushes them to prevent the next loss? [Read the full investigation](https://www.cbc.ca/9.7387116).

A data breach puts Crime Stoppers’ promise of anonymity under scrutiny

More than 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over 25 years were exposed in a data breach, according to a CBC investigation. About half of the leaked Canadian tips obtained by CBC contained personal information. The investigation made public the first precise figures on the breach’s scale and the number of tipsters affected. Toronto Crime Stoppers responded by pausing its program immediately. It removed the “Tip Submit” feature from its website, stopped accepting or processing new tips, and asked Navigate360 — the U.S.-based company that manages its data on the P3 platform — to suspend intake for the Toronto chapter. The organization also told the public not to submit tips by phone, online or through its app until it can offer a safer way to do so. Chair Sean Sportun said the organization’s promise of anonymity had been broken for some people and apologized. The Toronto Police Service also temporarily suspended its use of Crime Stoppers pending further review. Before CBC published its findings, the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association and local chapters had said only that they were waiting for a detailed report from Navigate360. The response is consequential: a program built on confidential tips has stopped taking them while it weighs how to protect the people who come forward. [CBC’s investigation](https://www.cbc.ca/news/investigates/canadian-crime-stoppers-tips-leaked-hack-investigation-9.7388820) reported the breach; [a separate report](https://san.com/cc/millions-of-anonymous-crime-tips-exposed-in-massive-crime-stoppers-hack-exclusive/) also covered the exposure. Read more from Valérie Ouellet and Michelle Allan [here](https://www.cbc.ca/news/investigates/toronto-crime-stoppers-pausing-program-data-leak-hack-9.7391157).

Consumer and health news from Marketplace

Missed a story this week? CBC’s Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you may have missed. You can get its [newsletter every Friday](https://subscriptions.cbc.ca/listmanagement?cmp=ee_marketplace-watchdog_newsletter-subscribe).T.S. was 22 when he sought help for a gambling problem that began as Friday nights with friends. Over three years, it escalated to a night last year when he lost $14,000 betting and locked himself in a bathroom. CBC agreed not to identify him. He says he hasn’t gambled since entering treatment, but the betting ads he saw during his binge made recovery harder. “Imagine you're an alcoholic and there was a beer ad during every show you watched,” he told CBC News. He said the promotions could prompt him to place another bet. That’s the human cost behind a vote scheduled next week: the federal Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is set to consider [Bill S-211](https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/S-211/third-reading), which would restrict sports betting advertising across Canada. The debate comes amid new findings of rising addiction and gambling-related suicides in Ontario. A [new analysis for CBC News](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/416504311_Three_Years_On_Gambling_Marketing_During_NHL_and_NBA_Broadcasts_in_Canada_Gambling_marketing_in_Canadian_sports_broadcasts) finds that betting promotions remain pervasive during Canadian sports broadcasts. The pattern echoes a 2024 CBC *Marketplace* study, which counted thousands of ads and product placements across five NHL games, reaching as many as three per minute. For anyone trying to cut back, that volume is more than background noise. [Read the investigation](https://www.cbc.ca/news/investigates/gambling-ads-restrictions-canada-9.7388888) by CBC’s Dave Seglins, Andreas Wesley and Saloni Bhugra, or [watch *Marketplace*’s 2024 report](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMCzarex0zI&pp=ygUfdGhlIGJpZyBnYW1ibGUgY2JjIG1hcmtlIHRwbGFjZQ%3D%3D) on the ads shown during games. The committee’s decision will test whether Ottawa is prepared to act on a problem viewers have been seeing for years.

What else is going on?

- [Bank of Canada increasingly expected to raise interest rates this month](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/real-estate-bank-of-canada-9.7389322) — a move that could further hit the battered real estate market. - [BMO CEO says not to give AI agents your banking information](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bmo-ai-warning-9.7390171). On Tuesday, RBC’s CEO said his bank may block Meta’s Muse AI assistant. - [Booking an Air Canada flight by phone will cost an extra $30](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/air-canada-another-fee-book-by-phone-9.7390309). The airline says the fee brings it in line with competitors, including WestJet. - [Why more young people are seeking autism and ADHD diagnoses](https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/young-people-seeking-diagnoses-autism-and-adhd-9.7375950) — experts say social media is contributing to a noticeable rise in patients seeking neurodivergent labels.

Marketplace needs your help

 *(David Abrahams/CBC, Shutterstock/Roxana Gonzalez)* Have you noticed prices climbing while package sizes stay the same—or shrink? *Marketplace* wants to hear what you’re seeing, from protein to packaged food. Send examples of higher prices or smaller portions to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).