骗子替留学生“交学费”？加拿大出现新型学费诈骗，受害者反背3.7万债务

一位法律专家表示，在这种情况下，像伯吉斯这样的受害者往往只有一个选择——聘请律师，而这可能非常昂贵。
A legal expert says fraud victims like Burgess often have few options in these situations beyond hiring a lawyer — which can be an expensive option.

“很不幸，消费者被置于一种境地：他们唯一的补救办法就是花钱寻求法律建议，”多伦多专注于消费者保护的律师Anique Dublin说。
"It's just unfortunate that consumers are put in a position where their only recourse is to resort to investing in legal advice," said Anique Dublin, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in consumer protection.

• recourse：求助渠道

• consumer protection：消费者保护

“感觉好像所有人都让这个可怜的女人失望了。”
"It feels like everybody was failing this poor woman."

伯吉斯的财务噩梦始于去年秋天。

Burgess's financial nightmare began last fall.

她当时在家工作，接到一个电话，看起来像是 TD银行反欺诈部门打来的。

She was working at home when she got a call that appeared to be from TD's fraud department.

• appeared to be：看起来像是

但这个号码其实是被伪造的。

The number had been spoofed.

• spoofed：伪造电话号码

电话中的女人告诉她，有人正在盗刷她的信用卡，并让她打开 TD 银行 App 来“撤销这些交易”。

A woman on the line said someone had made fraudulent charges on Burgess's credit card, and instructed her to open her TD Banking app, to reverse them.

“她非常有同理心，”伯吉斯说。“她还说：‘我知道这件事很让人紧张。’”

"She was very empathetic," said Burgess. "And was like, 'I know this is very stressful.'"

但实际上，伯吉斯在不知情的情况下批准了这些交易。

Instead, Burgess was unknowingly approving the transactions.

第二天，当诈骗者再次打电话时，她的丈夫在旁边听到，并让她挂断电话。

The next day, when the fraudsters called back, her husband — listening on speaker phone — urged her to hang up.

“我完全慌了，”她说。

"I went into a full panic," she said.

“我的情绪一下子就上来了，因为我不敢相信自己居然被骗了。”

"Very emotional, because I couldn't believe I just got scammed."

随后她立刻联系了 TD 银行。

She contacted TD immediately, and was told the bank would try to stop the charges.

但已经太晚了。

It was too late.

她提出争议申诉，并不断打电话询问进展。

She filed a dispute, and repeatedly called back for updates.

这时她才知道，所有交易都发生在 University Canada West。这是一所她曾多次开车路过，但从未就读过的学校。

That's when she learned all the charges had been at University Canada West. A school she had driven by many times but never attended.

“我很震惊，”伯吉斯说。“我当时还想：太好了，这些交易是可以追踪的。”

"I was shocked," said Burgess. "I also thought, 'Okay great, it's traceable."

“银行和大学之间的联系是清楚的，我一定能把钱追回来。”

"The dots are connected from my bank to the university and I am going to find a way to get it back."

但事情并没有那么简单。

It wasn't that simple.

TD银行拒绝向大学发起退款追讨（chargeback）请求，称伯吉斯在某种程度上“协助”了这起诈骗。
TD Bank declined to request a chargeback from the university, saying Burgess had helped facilitate the fraud.

• declined to：拒绝

• chargeback：信用卡退款追讨机制

• facilitate：促成、帮助实现

• 背景说明：在加拿大，信用卡 chargeback（拒付）是消费者保护机制，如果交易被认定为欺诈，银行可以向商家追回资金。

她随后向 TD 银行的高级客户投诉办公室提出申诉。
She appealed to TD's senior customer complaints office.

• appeal：提出申诉

在拒绝她申诉的一封信中，银行发言人告诉伯吉斯，客户有责任“理解自己正在与谁进行互动”。
In a letter declining her appeal, a spokesperson told Burgess that customers are responsible for "understanding who they are interacting with."

• responsible for：对……负责

• interacting with：与……互动

都柏林律师表示，这种回应是不恰当的。
Dublin says that response is inappropriate.

• inappropriate：不合适的

“在银行已经确认她是诈骗受害者的情况下，这样的立场显然不合理，”她说。
"That seems like an unreasonable position for the bank to have taken, in circumstances when they confirmed she was a victim of a scam," she said.

• unreasonable：不合理的

“在这种情况下，说当事人存在严重疏忽是没有道理的。”
"In those situations it's unreasonable to say the person was grossly negligent."

• grossly negligent：严重疏忽

当伯吉斯要求 University Canada West 退还这笔钱时，学校表示，如果没有 TD 银行发起的退款请求，他们无法退还资金。
When Burgess asked University Canada West to return the money, the school said it could not do so without a chargeback request from TD.

随后她向温哥华警方求助。
She then turned to Vancouver Police.

• turn to：向……求助

她说，一名警官最初告诉她——这是错误的——这笔钱很可能无法追踪，而且调查难度太大。
She says an officer initially told her — incorrectly — that the money was likely untraceable and too difficult to investigate.

当她解释说所有付款都转到了那所大学时，她说警官表示自己无能为力，而且也没有时间去寻找可能参与诈骗的学生。
When she explained the payments were all made to the university, she says he told her there was little he could do and he was too busy to hunt down students who may have fallen for the scam.

• hunt down：追查

伯吉斯说，这名警官建议她重新开始，要求 TD 银行发起退款追讨。
Burgess says he suggested she start at square one and request that TD do a chargeback request.

• start at square one：从头开始

都柏林律师表示，这正是这类诈骗问题的症结所在。
"This is the problem with these fraudulent schemes," said Dublin.

“警方总是这样回应：‘你希望我们做什么？’‘这是民事问题。’‘去法院解决。’”
"The constant stance by the police. 'What do you want us to do?' 'It's a civil matter.' 'Go to court.'

“这种做法不可接受，但遗憾的是我并不感到惊讶。”
It's unacceptable but unfortunately I'm not surprised."

CBC 的《Go Public》节目询问温哥华警察局为何关闭此案。
Go Public asked the Vancouver Police Department why they closed this case.

警方发言人表示，这类调查“本质上很难起诉”，因为犯罪者通常位于海外。
A spokesperson wrote that investigations like this are "inherently difficult to prosecute, as perpetrators are often located overseas."

• perpetrators：犯罪者

警方还表示，他们必须把“有限的资源”用于最有可能成功起诉的案件。
and that they must allocate "limited resources to investigating cases that are most likely to result in criminal prosecution."

• allocate resources：分配资源

• criminal prosecution：刑事起诉

这种学费诈骗似乎正在蔓延。
The tuition scam appears to be spreading.

里贾纳大学表示，2025年1月有多名国际学生报告遭遇学费诈骗。
The University of Regina said several international students reported tuition fraud in January 2025.

学校发言人提醒学生：“没有任何授权机构或个人可以替你预付学费或提供学费折扣。”
A spokesperson said the school wants to remind students that "there are no authorized businesses or persons who will pay for your tuition upfront or offer discounts."

里贾纳警方发布了诈骗警告，警方表示23名受害者损失超过12.5万加元

Regina police issued a fraud warning, saying 23 victims lost more than $125,000.

埃德蒙顿、温尼伯和渥太华警方也收到类似报告。
Police in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ottawa have also received similar reports.