Fraud hit Canada's bread price-fixing settlement, with $8.5 million in suspicious payments

Applying took only a name, a birth date, contact details and where the claimant bought bread. Each approved claimant got a $49.11 Interac e-transfer, and the deposit link could be forwarded to someone else.

Suspicious payments, Interac's estimate

8.5 $ million

Interac's estimate of suspicious and possibly fraudulent payments has grown to about $8.5 million, up from $3.7 million in June. It is still only an estimate.

Three small banks flagged unusual activity in late May: multiple transfers were being funnelled into the same accounts. One customer deposited about 1,000 of them.

As of the end of September, only $14,831.22 had been returned, with $376,176.78 more in frozen payments on its way back.