Ontario man 'devastated' after losing his home and nearly $500K to crypto scam
CTV
An Ontario man says he is 'devastated' after spending his entire life savings in an investment scam he got involved from a YouTube video he watched.
An Ontario man says he is 'devastated' after spending his entire life savings in an investment scam he got involved from a YouTube video he watched. “I’m devastated. It ruined me, and it’s my life savings gone," said Stephen Carr of Meaford, Ont.
Online investment scams continue to be a massive problem in Canada, and Carr is one of many victims.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 2021 saw $379 million in fraudulent losses in Canada, with the number one cause for loss being cryptocurrency fraud.
Carr said he was on YouTube when he saw a video that promised he could make large amounts of money trading commodities, foreign currencies and cryptocurrencies.
He said he contacted the company and started off with an initial amount of $250 to invest. When that appeared to be growing, he put in another $2,500.
At one point, Carr asked for a $1,000 withdrawal, which he received and gave him confidence the website was legitimate.
After that, from a period in October 2022 to January 2023, Carr invested his life savings of $498,000.
