This isn't the first time people have raised concerns about the music streaming service. One sent her an email with the same wording that Hawboldt received. The company does not offer customer service by telephone. Parent was also in touch with numerous representatives from Spotify. "Nobody has explained it, even TD. I asked TD, 'How did this happen? What can I do to protect myself?' The only option they gave us was to go in and change our debit cards," Hawboldt said. Hawboldt said she wasn't satisfied with Spotify's response and still has questions about how her bank number was accessed. Spotify did not respond to requests for comment by CBC News. She said the only alert she got regarding her account was an insufficient funds message, a red flag that something went wrong. "I was so angry, I was shaking," Hawboldt said.
Both women say they have never used their debit cards online.
Her card, like Parent's, is a Visa Debit, meaning it can be used for online purchases and the funds will come out of her chequing account as they typically would with an Interac card. She checked her account at home and saw three charges of $119.88 to Spotify, despite having never signed up for the service. Hawboldt was trying to buy a few things at a convenience store, but her debit card kept showing insufficient funds. 'I was so angry, I was shaking'īrenda Hawboldt, who lives in Sydney, N.S., faced the same challenges this past weekend as Parent did. Spotify did not say how many people have been reimbursed or what is being done to prevent a recurrence. "Spotify takes fraudulent activity on our service extremely seriously," the statement said. The company said it is providing refunds and investigating. The charges "stemmed from an attack targeting debit cards in Canada," a spokesperson said via email, and were not associated with Spotify itself. Parent says she checks her bank account frequently, but is concerned for people who may not do the same. It's unclear if customers from other banks are also having the same experiences.ĬBC contacted Spotify three times since Monday, but did not hear back until Thursday evening. The bank would not disclose how many customers are affected. In a statement to CBC News, a TD spokesperson said the company is looking into the issue with Spotify and Visa debit, and is working with its customers to reverse unauthorized charges.
"If someone had access to my chequing account, wouldn't they drain my money, wouldn't they be making other purchases? Why just Spotify?" Not clear how many people are affected She said she picked up a new debit card, and was told the bank was investigating and aware of similar problems involving other clients. Parent reported her concerns to her bank, TD, and the representative flagged the activity as fraudulent. "I kind of expect fraudulent charges to maybe happen on a credit card, but to have a direct charge on a chequing account was very shocking," she said. It put her in overdraft and left her with no cash for groceries over the weekend. In total, Spotify charged Parent $479.52. Parent, a graphic designer based in Toronto, is one of a number of Canadians who say they had money removed from their chequing accounts for the service to which they do not subscribe. Danielle Parent has never had a Spotify account, but on the weekend noticed four unauthorized withdrawals of $119.88 each for the music streaming service.