Desjardins incident causes privacy concern

When community member Emma Ouimet received a letter at the end of February from Desjardins stating that her investment’s tax forms may have been mailed to the wrong person, she was worried it could be a repeat of the large data breach that occurred between 2017-2019 as well as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) fraud that had been widely reported last year.

“I just automatically thought of how so many people have been dealing with the fraud situation, am I going to be next?” said Ouimet.

When her cousin posted on Facebook about being affected by the CRA scam, Ouimet commented about the letter she received from Desjardins about the handling of her T5 and Releve 3 slips.

“Then other people commented, saying that it happened to them too. I think there was maybe four other people who said, ‘I got the same letter,’ even though Desjardins said this is an isolated incident,” said Ouimet.

Jean-Benoît Turcotti, a spokesperson for Desjardins, said that the slips being mailed to the wrong postal boxes seems to have been caused by incomplete box number information.

“We are conscious that the reception of this kind of letter can cause preoccupations,” said Turcotti.

The letter was sent to inform those affected that the situation had taken place, that steps had been taken to make sure no information had been leaked, and that it was not a widespread problem, he said.

“The protection of personal information remains a priority for Desjardins,” said Turcotti.

Mandie Montour, general manager of the Kahnawake branch of the Caisse Populaire, said that the slips sent to the wrong boxes didn’t come from the branch itself, but rather the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec (FCDQ).

According to the Desjardins website, this is the “cooperative entity responsible for orientation, framework, coordination, treasury, and development activities for Desjardins Group.”

Montour said that when the error was noted, the slips were marked to be returned to sender from the boxes.

“As soon as the error was noted, it was rectified immediately. New T5 and Releve 3 slips were corrected and sent back out to the correct box number. The letter was given as a precaution, just to make the members aware in case it may have happened,” said Montour.

She said that she has been speaking to members of the Caisse about what happened for the past few weeks, and that anyone concerned can reach out to her directly by phone at the Caisse’s Kahnawake branch.

Both Montour and Turcotti said verifications were made that showed there is no indication that the information was leaked.

Ouimet said she received her slips, and that it does not seem like there was an issue with her data, but she was still worried about her personal information leaking in the future, especially seeing how long some of the people she knows have had to deal with the consequences of fraud.

“It was a few years ago, but some of my friends who are affected by it have only been affected by it starting last year. I guess there is always the potential of it affecting us,” said Ouimet.

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