'He told me he fell in love with me': Canadian senior loses $20K to romance scam

Two sisters from Ontario travelled to Newfoundland to spend time with their mom after they learned she lost $20,000 to a romance scam.

"In late July, we were contacted by a relative who said our mother had been scammed," said Pauline Harnum, who went with her twin sister Paula Harnum. Both sisters now reside in Woodbridge, Ont.

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They went to see their 77-year-old mother, Elaine Harnum, who lives in a small village in northwest Newfoundland. The sisters said their mother was feeling lonely after their father died, and that she had recently been treated for cancer.

"We believe what has happened was that my mother was caught at a vulnerable time, and the scammers can be quite convincing," said Pauline Harnum.

It all started when their mother received a Facebook friend request from someone she didn't know.

"He told me he fell in love with me when he saw my picture," said Elaine Harnum.

The man also said he was a widow her age, and before long, he was texting her day and night.

"He seemed so nice, and he wanted to come here to meet me," said Elaine Harnum. "He was just so convincing, and I just went along with it. It was like I was caught up in it."

The man said his finances were tied up in a U.S. bank and asked if he could borrow money to help his sick son.

That's when the scammer told her to start purchasing Apple gift cards.

"It started with $50 gift cards, then $100, then $200, then $300 and $500. The highest amount I sent at once was $3,000," said Elaine Harnum.

In the end, she said she gave the scammer $20,000.

Romance scams remain in the top three frauds in Canada, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, with Canadians losing more than $52 million to criminals last year alone and almost $23 million in the first half of 2024.

Many scammers use social media websites to try and find lonely victims and, before long, start asking them for money. This is why Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario (EAPO) says it tries to educate seniors on the dangers of cyber fraud.

"There are so many older adults living alone and they are looking for companionship," said Raeann Rideout, director of strategic partnerships with EAPO. "We tell seniors, if you didn't initiate the conversations with someone, you must be very careful about who you are connecting with online and what you are sharing publicly on Facebook."

The Harnum family want to share their story to warn others and feel that retailers should be doing more to prevent fraud, especially when a merchant sees a senior buying large amounts of gift cards.

"If you see someone coming in and they are buying thousands of dollars worth of gift cards at the corner store, there should be an alert system, and they should have some kind of responsibility as well," said Paula Harnum.

The sisters also said websites like Facebook should be more accountable for scams taking place on their platform.

The Harnums said they are working with the RCMP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to track down the funds, but once money is sent to a fraudster, it's hard to get it back.