The new Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler,” alleges Simon Leviev scammed an estimated total of $10 million by posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul and wooing women online through dating apps. Sadly, this is becoming increasingly common leading the Canadian Securities Administrators’ (CSA) to issue a warning to the public (on Valentine’s Day) about fraudsters luring Canadians into relationships that eventually lead to investment scams.
The CSA reported that the latest data from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) showed that romance scams were the second highest reported scam in 2021 (the first being investment scams). Furthermore, the number of reported romance scams increased 24 percent year over year (1,546 in 2020 vs 1,928 in 2021) and the dollar loss for reported romance scams was more than $64 million in 2021.
The CSA reports that fraudsters utilize a variety of techniques to defraud Canadians, including, but not limited to:
- Approaching people via dating apps, messaging apps, or other social media sites. After developing an online relationship, the fraudster brings up an “investment opportunity” and convinces the person to make an initial payment.
- Identifying a person’s friend and then taking control of the friend’s social media accounts. The suspect, posing as the friend, easily convinces the person to take advantage of the supposed investment opportunity.
- Researching their potential victims online, including reviewing…
