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
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with Maple Leafs, dead at 79
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire doubles in size as 3,000-plus ordered to evacuate
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Dutch contestant kicked out of Eurovision hours before tension-plagued song contest final
Hours before the final, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was dramatically booted out by organizers over a backstage incident. He had failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday, and contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union said it was investigating an "incident."
IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Haitians demand the resignation and arrest of the country's police chief after a new gang attack
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'We have no judge for you': Man's assault charges dropped weeks before trial due to lack of judges in Toronto
A man who was accused of sexually and physically assaulting a woman had his charges dropped in April, just weeks before he was set to stand trial in Toronto, due to a lack of judges in the region.