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
Police: Buffalo gunman aimed to keep killing if he got away
The white gunman accused of massacring 10 Black people in a racist rampage at a Buffalo supermarket planned to keep killing if he had escaped the scene, the police commissioner said Monday, as the possibility of federal hate crime or domestic terror charges loomed.
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre denounces 'white replacement theory'
Pierre Poilievre is denouncing the 'white replacement theory' believed to be a motive for a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., as 'ugly and disgusting hate-mongering.'
Ontario driver who killed woman and three daughters sentenced to 17 years in prison
A driver who struck and killed a woman and her three young daughters nearly two years ago 'gambled with other people's lives' when he took the wheel, an Ontario judge said Monday in sentencing him to 17 years behind bars.
What we know so far about the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting
A former police officer, the 86-year-old mother of Buffalo's former fire commissioner, and a grandmother who fed the needy for decades were among those killed in a racist attack by a gunman on Saturday in a Buffalo grocery store. Three people were also wounded.
Documents show a pattern of human rights abuses against gender diverse prisoners
Facing daily instances of violence and abuse, gender diverse people in the Canadian prison system say they are forced to take measures into their own hands to secure their safety.
White 'replacement theory' fuels racist attacks
A racist ideology seeping from the internet's fringes into the mainstream is being investigated as a motivating factor in the supermarket shooting that killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York. Most of the victims were Black.
Ontario party leaders set to face off in election debate
The Ontario election leaders debate is happening on Monday night. Here's how to watch it live.
Amber Heard says she feared she would not survive Johnny Depp marriage
'Aquaman' actor Amber Heard told jurors in a defamation case on Monday that she filed for divorce from Johnny Depp in 2016 because she worried she would not survive physical abuse by him.
Russia faces diplomatic and battlefield setbacks on Ukraine
Moscow suffered another diplomatic setback Monday in its war with Ukraine, with Sweden joining Finland in deciding to seek NATO membership, while Ukraine's president congratulated his soldiers who reportedly pushed back Russian forces near the border.
Montreal
-
Quebec coroner calls for independence in public health director role in final report on long-term care home deaths
The government of Quebec needs to ensure the role of the public health director is independent and without any 'political constraint,' a Quebec coroner has recommended in a final report into deaths at long-term care homes during the pandemic's first wave.
-
Quebec should 'ideally' aim for 100,000 immigrants per year, says CPQ
Quebec should aim to welcome 100,000 immigrants per year, according to the Conseil du patronat (CPQ).
-
Gas prices: Montreal reaches another record high of $2.15 per litre
Montreal commuters woke up to spiking gas prices as some stations' price for regular is currently a record high and over $2.15-per-litre.
London
-
Suspects arrested after stolen pick-up strikes school bus Monday morning
Two suspects have been arrested by members of the OPP in relation to a stolen pick-up truck that rear-ended a school bus in London, Ont. on Monday morning.
-
Vehicle struck by bullet in south London, Ont.
The call came in just before midnight and police responded to the area of Wellington Road south and Bradley Avenue.
-
Spring weather returns to London, Ont., but isolated thunderstorms possible
It felt like mid-summer across southern Ontario this weekend after a strong ridge of high pressure pushed the daytime high temperature into the upper twenties, but spring-like temperatures have returned to the Forest City — and with it, a risk of thunderstorms.
Kitchener
-
Police investigating child’s suspicious death, searching for man in Cambridge
The Waterloo Regional Police Service has released the name of a man they say could have information on the suspicious death of an eight-year-old boy in Cambridge.
-
Trial of brothers accused of killing Nick Tanti starts in Guelph
Tanti, 27, was stabbed during a confrontation outside a downtown Guelph bar on MacDonell Street around 2 a.m. on February 29, 2020.
-
'It will be a historic night': Green Party to participate in Ontario leaders’ debate for first time
The leaders of Ontario's largest political parties will participate in a live debate Monday night, and for the first time in history, the Green Party will also be on the stage.
Northern Ontario
-
Ontario party leaders set to face off in election debate
The Ontario election leaders debate is happening on Monday night. Here's how to watch it live.
-
Loose cows threatened at Old Woman Bay north of the Sault
Complaints about people hunting and shooting roaming cows in the area of Old Woman Road, on Highway 17 north of Sault Ste. Marie, were reported by the OPP in tweets late Saturday and early Sunday.
-
Three new forest fires discovered in northeast
Three new forest fires were discovered in northeastern Ontario
Ottawa
-
Canada Day celebrations moving from Parliament Hill
The Canada Day main stage will be at LeBreton Flats park just west of downtown Ottawa this year, not on Parliament Hill.
-
Ottawa's Terry Fox statue to move to make way for new parliamentary building
The Terry Fox statue across from Parliament Hill will need to be moved to make way for a new building to house MPs and senators, committee rooms and an Indigenous Peoples' space.
-
WATCH LIVE
WATCH LIVE | Storms could bring up to 50 mm of rain in Ottawa
It will be a rainy day in the capital on Monday with a risk of a thunderstorm later today.
Windsor
-
Suspicious package cleared following investigation in east Windsor
Windsor police have cleared the scene following an investigation into a suspicious package that has since been deemed safe.
-
Essex OPP investigate weapons call at grade school dance
OPP in Essex are investigating after it was reported a weapon was brought to a grade school dance on Friday.
-
Housing sales drop for second straight month in Windsor-Essex
The Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors’ report shows housing sales decreased for the second straight month, but the average price continues to increase.
Barrie
-
Truck rollover on Highway 400 in York Region causing major delays
A truck rollover on Highway 400 south of Newmarket is causing major delays Monday, according to provincial police.
-
Clear out your closet for a new fashion market in Innisfil
A fashion market is coming to the Town of Innisfil next month.
-
OPP officer taken to hospital after rollover near Cookstown
An OPP cruiser flipped onto its roof shortly after noon Monday.
Atlantic
-
'Absolutely disgusting': Team leader critical of RCMP mental health support after N.S. shooting
The RCMP's treatment of their tactical team in the days following the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia was characterized as "absolutely disgusting" Monday during testimony before the public inquiry examining the killings.
-
Coroner's inquest into 2020 police shooting death of Indigenous woman begins in N.B.
A jury of three women and two men has been chosen in the coroner's inquest into the death of Chantel Moore -- a 26-year-old Indigenous woman fatally shot during a wellness check by police in Edmundston, N.B.
-
Closure concerns: Glace Bay ER closed for nearly two years due to staffing shortages
The emergency department at the Glace Bay Hospital has been closed since July of 2021, and it’s unclear when it will reopen.
Calgary
-
Calgary's rental car shortage expected to continue through summer 2022
A summer approaches, travellers hoping to rent a vehicle may find it difficult to find an affordable option – not just in Alberta, but right across Canada.
-
Battle of Alberta extends to city halls with friendly facepaint, cancer charity donation wager
The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton are throwing their support behind their respective home teams ahead of the long awaited return of a playoff version of the storied Battle of Alberta.
-
Man stabbed in Olympic Plaza in Monday afternoon assault
Police were called to Olympic Plaza Monday after receiving reports that a man had been assaulted.
Winnipeg
-
Community cut off after flooding washes out roads in western Manitoba
Flooding that has washed out many roads and bridges in a section of western Manitoba has cut off one community from the outside world.
-
Homicide investigation launched after human remains found in North Kildonan: WPS
Winnipeg police say human remains found in North Kildonan early Monday morning are believed to be the result of a homicide.
-
Two Winnipeg teachers among recipients of Governor General’s History Awards
Two Winnipeg teachers and a Manitoba-born judge are among the winners of this year’s Governor General’s History Awards.
Vancouver
-
Refund requests for COVID-19 travel cancellations dismissed by B.C. tribunal
Multiple travellers seeking refunds for trips cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic recently had their complaints dismissed by a B.C. tribunal.
-
Metro Vancouver in for another round of wet, windy weather
People in Metro Vancouver are being told to brace for strong winds and heavy rain starting Tuesday evening.
-
Suspect arrested, charged after 2 women groped in downtown Vancouver
A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged after two women were groped in a busy area of downtown Vancouver in broad daylight.
Edmonton
-
Alta. man pleads guilty to 1st-degree murder in deaths of woman, toddler
The Alberta man accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of a 24-year-old woman and her 16-month-old child is due in court on Monday.
-
Trial to begin for father, son accused of killing Métis hunters in rural Alberta
A jury trial is to begin today for a man and his son who are accused of killing two Métis hunters.
-
Oilers calm, confident ahead of 'another level' Battle of Alberta
While many hockey fans in Edmonton were glued to the Calgary Flames Game 7 Sunday night, some Oilers players slept through it.