Case Studies

In September 2004, Mr. D returned to school with the intention to complete his studies by April 2005. Like many post-secondary students, Mr. D needed help to pay for his education, and in 2004, he took on both federal and provincial student loans through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

In early 2017, Mr. W returned from his yearly vacation. He was always diligent about checking his account activity. When he went online to review his vacation spending, he noticed three transactions for around $4,000 for cheques that he had not written.

Mr. H moved his investment portfolio to a new advisor in 2008. At the time, he was 71 and was still working full-time as a physician. He was an experienced investor with an investment portfolio of approximately $1.4 million. He accepted his advisor’s recommendations to buy gold and precious metals mutual funds with DSCs.

One day in 2017, Mr. R’s computer froze. A warning appeared on the screen and a message from what appeared to be a reputable company was displayed. It warned Mr. R that a virus had infected his computer and provided him with a number to call. He called and spoke to a representative who recommended an antivirus software to correct the issues. Mr. R agreed to buy the software for $400.

An elderly woman, Ms. W, had a grandson living overseas.

Ms. T was a retired book editor, living on her own. Her government retirement benefits were supplemented by a small employment pension. Her only financial assets were approximately $30,000 invested in Government of Canada bonds.

Mr. T had recently converted his personal chequing account to a joint account with his girlfriend, subject to a right of survivorship. At the time, the account had a $15,000 balance. 

In 2014, Mr. M was gravely ill. At the time, most of his assets were held in a sizeable RRIF account, with his three sons designated as beneficiaries. His existing will provided that each of his three adult sons would receive an equal share of his estate outright, but this no longer matched his wishes because he felt that two of his sons were not capable of responsibly managing a sizeable inheritance.

Mr. D was a terminally ill senior. He had named his daughter, Ms. M, to be a substitute decision maker for him in a POA. In early 2018, she contacted his investment firm and told the firm that her father had requested that she sell his mutual funds.

Mr. F had held his credit card, and a number of other products, with the bank for over 25 years. In early 2018, he noticed he had not received his credit card statement in the mail. He called the bank. He asked about the missing statement.