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Miss something this week? Don't panic. CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need. Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday. RBC and CIBC allow 89-year-old to drain life savings, lose $1.7M to scammers Ray Anholt of Victoria recently marked his 90th birthday, but says there was little to celebrate — being the victim of one of the largest-ever bank investigator scams reported in Canada, he was left virtually penniless. Over six months last year, Anholt lost his life savings — almost $1.7 million. The scam involved phoney bank employees, fake official letters from various government bodies and politicians, piles of cash, massive bank drafts, gold bars and couriers — but the most unbelievable part of the elaborate ordeal is that two major banks allowed a vulnerable senior to empty his accounts despite red flags, says Anholt’s daughter. “They watched this 89-year-old man pull out every cent,” Jill Anholt told Go Public, her jaw taut with anger. And while Ray's loss was massive, he has plenty of company. Last year alone, Canadians lost more than $643 million to bank fraud — an increase of nearly 300 per cent since 2020. As scams get increasingly sophisticated, experts say our financial institutions lag behind those in other countries with better protections. “This has been a rampant problem for years and you haven't seen anything except baby steps forward,” said Democracy Watch co-founder and bank accountability advocate Duff Conacher. Neither CIBC nor Royal Bank — where Ray was a customer — agreed to an interview. Both banks said in statements that they have robust measures to protect and alert clients when fraud is suspected. Read more from the CBC Go Public's Erica Johnson and Ana Komnenic. Bodycams worn by Toronto FreshCo employees raise questions about safety and privacy Some grocery stores owned by Sobeys Inc. are the latest Toronto stores to test body-worn cameras. In a statement, the retailer confirmed it's piloting the project after the bodycams were spotted on FreshCo employees in a store located at Sherbourne and Isabella streets. The cameras are being used to combat harassment and assault directed toward employees and to prevent shoplifting and other crimes, Sobeys spokesperson Caitlin Gray said. But James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, said he thinks they could have the opposite effect. “I think it makes any employee … more vulnerable rather than safer because potential thieves may see the bodycam and just want to grab it off them,” he told CBC Toronto. Sobeys has seen a significant decrease in violence and aggression toward employees and customers since the cameras were introduced to select locations, Gray said in a statement. The retailer also said the bodycams only record when activated by store managers during an incident and are not used to monitor employees. Sobeys has not yet responded to questions about when the pilot officially began. The move is part of a larger trend, with Loblaw Companies Ltd. also confirming to CBC Toronto it's been running a bodycam pilot in some of its stores for the past two years. Privacy experts have also raised some concerns about the practice. Read more from CBC's Tyler Cheese. This mom’s son was asking Tesla’s Grok AI chatbot about soccer. It told him to send nude pics, she says A Toronto mom says things took an unpredictable turn when her 12-year-old son asked Tesla’s AI chatbot Grok which professional soccer player it prefers: Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. “My son was very excited to hear that the chatbot thought Ronaldo was the better soccer player,” said Farah Nasser, a former journalist and broadcaster. Nasser was driving her son and 10-year-old daughter, along with her friend, home from school on Oct. 17 when the interaction took place. She said there was some Messi trash talking by the chatbot, and when her son joked that Ronaldo had scored, the conversation went to an unexpected place. "The chatbot said to my son, 'Why don't you send me some nudes?'" said Nasser. "I was at a loss for words. Why is a chatbot asking my children to send naked pictures in our family car? It just didn't make sense." Nasser said had she known what the chatbot was capable of, she would have avoided using it around her children. She's now warning other parents. "Hindsight is 20/20. I would not let my child use this thing." CBC News did not independently verify the conversation Nasser says she witnessed in her car. Tesla did not respond to CBC's questions about Nasser's experience. However, xAI provided what appeared to be an automated reply, stating, "Legacy media lies." Read more from the CBC's Idil Mussa and Marnie Luke. What else is going on? Central bank can't undo structural economic changes from trade war, says governor Retail giant pouring billions into data centres to power its tech $32M case against Ontario developer falls apart at provincial regulator hearing Calls for better protections for home buyers after Ontario’s Home Construction Regulatory Authority fails to prove case against developer Marketplace needs your help! We're on the look out for your phone scam experiences. Have you fallen victim to a sophisticated scammer? If you're willing to share your story, email us at marketplace@cbc.ca. How have you been affected by high food costs? Have you been getting the nutrition you need, or cutting corners to stretch your dollar? Marketplace is looking for folks who may be willing to share their stories on camera. Write to us at marketplace@cbc.ca. Catch up on past episodes of Marketplace on CBC Gem.
