A B.C. woman says she’s shocked how someone was able to take out a mortgage and add her name without her permission.
“I’m mind-boggled that you can open up a mortgage in a completely different province and not even be present,” Hailey Leo told Consumer Matters.
The Langley, B.C. resident says her nightmare began on Feb. 14, 2025 when she logged into her CIBC account and discovered some of her personal information had changed.
“Not my name, but my address, the phone numbers – there were three different phone numbers added. The address was changed to Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta,” said Leo.
Leo says she received no notification or warning from her bank. When she contacted CIBC, she said she was connected to its fraud department, where staff members had frozen her account.
After waiting several hours, Leo says CIBC opened a new bank account in her name with reassurances the issue was resolved. “They said everything was corrected and I should be fine to go,” said Leo.
However, 11 days later, Leo says she had issues again with her CIBC account. “I tried to log into my online banking to check my balance and I can’t log in. Again, no notifications, no calls, no emails, no nothing,” said Leo.
Even more alarming, Leo says CIBC informed her someone had opened a mortgage in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. along with a personal line of credit. Leo says her name was also on the mortgage.
“They (CIBC) end up telling me that all of the information has changed from the day I came in originally on the 14, back to the exact same person, the exact same address, except this time they took out a $260,000 mortgage under my name,” she said.
“I didn’t apply for a mortgage. How did this happen?”
In an emailed statement, CIBC told Consumer Matters:
“We looked into this matter and can confirm no fraud or identity theft occurred. This was a processing issue limited to a single account which we are working to resolve.”
Consumer Matters called the number listed on Leo’s account. The person who answered the call stated her name was also ‘Hailey Leo’ and said she lived in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. She also told Consumer Matters she had been dealing with issues with CIBC regarding an account with a mortgage.
“I wish they could give me an explanation for just shutting down the account. That’s all they explained it as. They told me that it was fraud,” Leo said.
Cybercrime consultant Claudiu Popa says CIBC’s response does little for consumer confidence. “It’s just a statement made off the cuff and the bank does not realize such a statement only creates more questions. It answers no questions at all and it will serve to worry and raise concerns amongst other customers at the very least if not other banking customers across Canada,” he said.
Popa says threats to personal banking information are becoming more sophisticated. “We are seeing situations even where multi-factor authentication is being compromised these days. It’s up to the banks to educate the public not just to say you’re responsible for protecting your password and your account.”
Popa also recommends consumers who find themselves in a similar situation to Leo’s case or have their banking information compromised, should act swiftly and not wait for an investigation to take place from the bank because it could take weeks or months.
He suggests contacting the Ombudsman For Banking Services and Investments, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Popa also says getting a statement from the bank to clear your name to ensure your credit rating is in good standing is also important.
Haily Leo in B.C. says she’s been told by CIBC an investigation is underway. However, she says she has lost trust in CIBC and has since taken her business elsewhere – moving her funds to another competitor.
“My biggest thing right now is security. Is all of our information protected?” said Leo.