The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank Group) · AI used against the institution · severity 3 of 5
CBC News' Go Public reported on 19 October 2026 that Ralph Moore, an 88-year-old TD customer in Qualicum Beach, B.C., lost $450,000 over 10 months to an online investment scam that drew him in, in May 2025, with a deepfake video of Prime Minister Mark Carney promoting a new government investment platform. According to CBC, Moore made multiple trips to his local TD branch to arrange transfers, bank drafts and payments to other people's credit cards. TD questioned several transactions, warned him about scams and at one point temporarily restricted his account, but did not permanently block the payments; it closed his account in February 2026 after he had lost virtually all his money and has not reimbursed him. TD declined an interview and, citing client confidentiality, did not answer questions about the case.
Record last reviewed Oct 24, 2026 · Markdown
Date
May 2025 · disclosed Oct 19, 2026
Institution
Country
Canada
AI system
Deepfake video of Prime Minister Mark Carney promoting a supposed government investment platform, used as the lure for an online investment scam
AI?
Machine-learning system (inferred from the record)
The sources describe a machine-learning model; nobody on the record labelled it AI.
Status
Reported
Severity
3 of 5
Impact
C$450,000 (CBC: more than $450,000 withdrawn from TD), virtually all of the customer's money · ≈ $325,000 · One customer, aged 88, who later failed a mental-capacity test.
What happened?
According to CBC News, Moore was drawn in in May 2025 by a deepfake video of Prime Minister Mark Carney "heralding a new government investment platform where people could safely grow their savings". Over the following 10 months he lost $450,000 to the online investment scam. CBC captioned an example clip as "a deepfake of Prime Minister Mark Carney, encouraging Canadians to invest in an online platform."[1]
Per CBC, the 88-year-old did transactions online and made multiple trips to his local TD Bank branch to arrange transfers, bank drafts and payments to other people's credit cards. CBC reported that the bank recognised early on that Moore was falling victim to a scam: it questioned several of his transactions, warned him and his wife about scams, alerted its fraud and anti-scam teams and at one point placed temporary restrictions on his account.[1]
His daughter, Leslie Herrndorf, told CBC she had her father's mental capacity tested shortly after discovering the fraud, and he failed. She asked why the transactions were not permanently blocked, his account frozen, or his adult children or the police contacted: "How could $450,000 be allowed to be given away by a bank who'd been dealing with my dad for decades? They knew this was unusual behaviour." Moore told Go Public: "I don't think they protected me."[1]
CBC reported Moore's case as one of more than three dozen bank-fraud victims it contacted for a story on whether Ottawa should make banks liable for fraud losses, as the U.K. has done since October 2024. Alexandre Plourde of Option consommateurs called Moore's $450,000 loss "unacceptable" and said that when customers are clearly being scammed, banks "should have protocols to go deeper, ask more questions."[1]
When did it happen?
- May 2025
Moore is drawn into the online investment scam by a deepfake video of Prime Minister Mark Carney.[1]
- Feb 2026
After Moore has lost virtually all of his money, TD shuts down his account.[1]
- Jul 31, 2026
TD writes to Moore's daughter that it decided to "exit the client relationship" to "prevent further financial harm."[1]
- Oct 19, 2026
CBC Go Public publishes the case; TD declines an interview and gives a written statement that does not address it.[1][2]
What was the impact?
- Financial: C$450,000 (CBC: more than $450,000 withdrawn from TD), virtually all of the customer's money · ≈ $325,000[1]
- Customers: One customer, aged 88, who later failed a mental-capacity test.[1]
Severity 3 of 5: Material harm to one customer: an 88-year-old lost about C$450,000, virtually all of his money, through transfers arranged at his own TD branch, and the bank has not reimbursed him; the loss is confined to one person at one institution.
How did The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank Group) respond?
TD has not reimbursed Moore, according to CBC. TD declined Go Public's interview request. In a written statement, a TD spokesperson did not answer questions about Moore's case, citing client confidentiality, and said protecting customers "remains a top priority through robust security, monitoring and education resources", encouraging fraud and scam victims to report to authorities. In a 31 July 2026 letter to Moore's daughter, TD said it had decided to "exit the client relationship" to "prevent further financial harm."[1][2]
What was the outcome, and did regulators act?
Unresolved as of 2026-10-24: Moore has not been reimbursed and his TD account was closed in February 2026, per CBC. We found no report of a complaint to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, a lawsuit or a police outcome in his case. Canada's March 2026 Bank Act changes did not make banks liable for fraud losses, CBC reported.[1]
How did the Mark Carney deepfake scam reach the TD customer?
According to CBC News, Ralph Moore was drawn in in May 2025 by a deepfake video of Prime Minister Mark Carney promoting a supposed new government investment platform. Over 10 months he sent about $450,000 through online transactions and in-branch transfers, bank drafts and credit-card payments arranged at his local TD branch.
Did TD reimburse him?
No, per CBC's 19 October 2026 report. TD questioned some transactions, warned him about scams and briefly restricted his account, then closed the account in February 2026. TD declined an interview and, citing client confidentiality, did not answer questions about the case.
Are Canadian banks required to refund scam victims?
Not under current federal law, according to CBC: the March 2026 Bank Act changes included nothing on bank liability for fraud. In the U.K., banks have had to reimburse most authorised push payment scam victims since October 2024 unless the customer was grossly negligent.
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