Bank reconsiders, reaches deal with mystery shopper scam victim

A Sherwood Parkman has reached an undisclosed settlement with his bank after being burned for more than $5,000 in a mystery shopper scam.

"I'm just so grateful that I had a win, to experience a win after all this," Andre Blazey said.

"I've put this chapter behind me."

• GO PUBLIC:Familiar shopper scam becoming increasing sophisticated

Blazey thought he had been hired asan undercover shopper for a legitimate consumer research company.

After some initial assignments to assess customer service at a local Walmart,Blazey was convinced towiremoney through the store's Western Union desk on the pretext of testing the wire service's efficiency.

To cover the transfers Blazey had been sent several bank drafts which later turned out to be fraudulent.

The Bank of Montreal initially refused to compensate Blazey saying he directed the bank to release the funds from the drafts and had misrepresented what he would be doing with the money.

Blazey told his story to CBC's Go Public and appealed to BMO's ombudsman.

This week Blazey and BMO agreed to a settlement.

Blazey said he's looking forward to getting his life back on track and says the scam was a painful learning experience.

"It's easy to get lured into chasing that almighty dollar," he said

"But really, you need to stop and do your research. I'm so scarred by this incident that I'm scared to get involved with anything like this again."