An Ontario man says he has been left shattered after falling for a $260,000 cryptocurrency scam that drained him of his life savings.
“I’m absolutely devastated about it,” the man, who only wanted to be identified as James, told CTV News Toronto. “I couldn’t eat for at least six days. I’m still in the process of recovering … they pretty much flushed me out.”
James said he was on a dating website and met a woman who said she could teach him how to make money investing in cryptocurrencies.
He said he started with $1,000, but started putting in more money when it looked like his investments were going up quickly.
“I went to the bank and I got two amounts of $50,000 and then another one was for $30,000,” James said.
In the end, he said he gave the scammers more than $260,000 and lost it all.
He said he’s been told by authorities that once the funds are sent to scammers they are almost impossible to trace and get back.
“I would highly suggest not to take any financial advice from people online that you’ve never actually shook hands with or met in person,” James said.
March is Fraud Prevention Month, and Toronto police issued a public safety alert this week after noticing an increase in cryptocurrency scam cases in the city.
HOW THE SCAMS NORMALLY START
Toronto police spokesperson Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu told CTV News Toronto it often starts with an invitation using social media to make easy money.
“The emails, the texts, the downloads are sent…
