TORONTO - BMO is warning that "fraudsters" from outside of the country may have accessed certain the personal and financial information of some of its customers.
The bank says that fraudsters contacted it on Sunday claiming to be in possession of certain data for a "limited number of customers" and it believes the attack was originated outside of Canada.
BMO says it took immediate steps after learning of the potential breach and is confident that exposures related to customer data have been "closed off."
The disclosure followed a warning from CIBC's direct banking brand Simplii Financial that said "fraudsters" may have electronically accessed certain personal and account information for approximately 40,000 Simplii Financial clients.
Simplii said it learned of the potential issue on Sunday and has implemented additional online security measures such as enhanced online fraud monitoring.
Both banks say they will be contacting clients, and recommended that customers monitor their accounts and notify their financial institution about any suspicious activity.