Fraudsters are trying to scam more Manitobans out of their hard earned money and retirement savings.
The Better Business Bureau issued a warning Thursday that the number of successful investment scams has been rising in recent years.
Stefanie Lasuik, spokeswoman for the BBB of Central Canada, said the BBB’s ScamTracker received two reports of investment scams in 2021-22, but that has jumped to 10 so far in 2023-24.
CHRIS RATCLIFFE / BLOOMBERG FILES
Scammers will encourage the use of cryptocurrencies.
“As always, we expect there were many more victims than those who reported their losses to ScamTracker,” Lasuik said Thursday.
She said North American losses also reached a three-year high last year, going from a median loss of $1,000 in 2021 to nearly $6,000 in 2023.
Statistics from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Agency show scams are increasing as well.
In the first three months of this year, investments scams successfully targeted 25 Manitobans out of more than $665,000 in total while in 2023, 92 victims lost more than $3.5 million.
Romance scams also saw eight Manitobans bilked out of more than $177,000 during the first three months of this year and 48 Manitobans of more than $1.6 million in 2023.
RCMP Const. Ricky Perkins meets with many of the victims and tells them the bad news — if the money has been transferred to somewhere else in the world, it is likely gone for good.
“We see a lot of these scams,” said Perkins. “I think the methods have changed — cryptocurrency is more prevalent now in defrauding people.
“In my experience, it is so often they prey on peoples’ vulnerabilities, including whether they are lonely. It can go on for months or even years at a time and the person believes they are in a real relationship.
“But they just want your money.”
Lasuik said the way many scams work is they appear on a person’s social media or through a faked “wrong number” phone call and begin a conversation.
“They can come in all different forms with different methods,” she said. “It could be through a text or a wrong number. It could be someone looking for love through a dating app.”
What they all have in common, Lasuik agrees, is they want to steal money. At some point, when the scammer has formed an emotional connection with a person, they will give them some investment advice.
Lasuik said the scammer will offer high or guaranteed returns and encourage the use of cryptocurrencies.
Months later, the victim realizes the money is gone.
“We want people to be careful when they hear buzzwords like ‘guaranteed investment’ or ‘no risk, high return’,” she said. “If there is only one opportunity and you have to act now or it will disappear, that’s another red flag.
“If it seems too good to be true, it is.”
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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