Ontario man out $106,000 after being blindsided by twist of two scams
An Ontario man says he will probably have to sell his house after being scammed out $106,000 of his retirement money.
Sylvester, who did not want to provide his surname, said he is devastated and left completely lost after realizing he had been conned out of his savings.
"I just met this girl online, and I started to talk to her, and she said she's making some money in cryptocurrencies and said I could too," Sylvester, from Oshawa, said.
Sylvester said in October 2021, he was on a Facebook dating website when he met the woman, who claimed to be named Joanna and said she was visiting Canada from Korea.
After a week of chatting online, she suggested they invest in cryptocurrencies together.
Sylvester started with $500, but later invested thousands more. In total, he made about 22 transactions, taking loans from the bank and a line of credit.
At one time he transferred $24,000 in funds. He said he believed the woman he met online was also investing at the same time as him and putting in equal amounts.
Sylvester said at one time he even did a Zoom chat with the woman.
The woman also sent him printouts showing that his investments were rapidly going up, however when he tried to take his money out in December he couldn't.
That's when he said he realized he had been scammed out of $106,000.
A woman uses her computer keyboard to type while surfing the internet in North Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday, December, 19, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
"I'm retired and that was my retirement money that I saved. Now my heart is crying," Sylvester said.
Canadians, like Sylvester, lost more than $70 million in 2021 to investment fraud and another $40 million to romance scams.
Now criminals are combining the two types of fraud adding a twist to dating scams that some are calling CryptoRom.
In November, CTV News Toronto spoke with a woman who lost $80,000 in a cryptocurrency scam after connecting with a man on a dating website.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said while victims may think they're investing in cryptocurrencies, they're really just handing their money over to criminals.
"The fraudster is sending a platform, which is fake, but it very much looks real to the victims," Sue Labine with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre told CTV News Toronto.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been lonely and have turned to dating websites for companionship.
Sylvester is devastated after being caught in the scam and is worried he will lose his home.
"I'm lost. My mind is not working properly. I can't think, I can't do anything. I borrowed money from my friends, I borrowed money from all the banks. I have to sell my house probably," Sylvester said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.