A Canadian pharmacy manager, Raelene Vandenbosch, is suing Rogers Communications and Match Transact Inc. after a 2021 SIM swap scam led to the theft of her Bitcoin, then worth about $531,000—now valued at around $1.8 million.
Vandenbosch alleges that a Match-owned phone kiosk employee in Montreal was tricked by a hacker posing as a Rogers technician into sharing their computer screen.
This enabled the hacker to access her account and transfer it to a SIM card, despite her being in British Columbia at the time.
She has filed lawsuits in Ontario, Quebec, and B.C., accusing both companies of negligence, breach of privacy, and breach of contract. Vandenbosch is demanding the return of the Bitcoin’s 2021 value, other damages, and a public admission of wrongdoing.
Rogers and Match argue the matter should go to private arbitration, citing a clause in her Rogers cellphone contract.
However, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Anita Chan ruled that while most of the dispute must go to arbitration, the demand for a public admission can proceed in court due to public interest.
A Rogers spokesperson defended the company’s actions: “As fraudsters use constantly evolving techniques… we continually strengthen our security measures to protect our customers.”
Vandenbosch challenged the arbitration clause under new B.C. consumer protection rules passed in March that ban such clauses in phone contracts. But Justice Chan ruled the changes aren’t retroactive.
The B.C. Attorney General’s office clarified that the new arbitration rules only apply to disputes initiated after March 31, 2025.
