NEWS RELEASE
YORK REGIONAL POLICE
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Investigators with the York Regional Police Financial Crimes Unit are warning citizens about a new online romance and investment scam after a significant increase in incidents being reported. This new scam is primarily targeting the Chinese community.
Victims in these incidents have lost substantial amounts of money – ranging from thousands of dollars to more than $1 million.
Suspects contact the victims, who have been primarily female, through the social media or dating apps. The interaction begins as one of a romantic nature. As the online relationship progresses, the suspect recommends an exciting investment opportunity for the victim to participate in, promising large returns.
The suspects often claim to be, or to work closely with, very knowledgeable and experienced traders or investors. In some cases, the suspect sets up the victim with access a website where they can view what they believe is their account and the funds within it.
Typically, the suspect will continue to encourage victims to invest more money until eventually, they become suspicious. In most cases by that time, the money is gone and recovering it is extremely unlikely.
Our citizens are reminded that these scams have many variations and suspects go to great lengths to appear legitimate. Fraudsters work to build trust with the victims and use a number of psychological techniques to convince a victim to agree to their suggestions.
Citizens are encouraged to be exceedingly cautious in developing online relationships with strangers and do not invest money in something you do not fully understand or with people or businesses that you cannot confirm are legitimate.
If the situation feels suspicious, trust your instincts and avoid it.
We encourage citizens to share these fraud prevention tips with friends and family, especially seniors or newcomers to Canada, who are frequent targets of frauds and scams.
If you have been a victim of a fraud and have lost money, report the incident promptly to the York Regional Police Financial Crimes Unit either online at https://www.yrp.ca/en/online-reporting/Report-a-Crime.asp or by calling 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6627. To report frauds where no money has been lost, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
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