Barrie Police are warning residents about cryptocurrency and investment scams after a 78-year-old man lost about $200,000.
The Barrie Police Fraud Unit became involved after the man's bank raised concerns about suspicious financial activity.
Police say the Barrie resident began communicating with someone through social media in February 2025.
The person developed a relationship with him over months of constant communication and convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency.
They never met in person.
The victim said in a video released by Barrie Police that the relationship developed quickly.
“Became friends quickly, and she would call me pretty well every morning, and I trusted her. I thought she was working in my interest.”
Police say the individual eventually gained access to the victim's accounts and transferred substantial amounts of his money into cryptocurrency accounts the man could not access.
“So they proceeded to take about everything I had, and I let them, thinking it was to my benefit. Yeah, all my savings, uh, the house I paid for, it's gone. And I didn't know what to do with myself," he said.
Detective Constable Watson says scammers are very good at what they do, using scripts and picking up on people's verbal cues.
In the video released by police, Watson says some seniors fall for these scams because they're lonely, and scammers use that to build a relationship.
“People will usually find an ad on social media advertising some kind of investment opportunity. People will reach out through social media, and then that's where it starts.”
Police believe the money was then transferred outside Canada, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover.
In this case, however, the Fraud Unit worked with the victim's bank to recover roughly $135,000.
Watson says scammers can use a combination of romance, social media, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency to gain a victim's trust.
They reach out and say, ‘Look, look how much money you made, but if you had invested this much money, then you would have made this much.’ You're lonely, this person fits a dream you have in your head, and it's really hard to let it go.”
Watson advises people to take five minutes before sending money and think about what's being asked of them.
“Take five minutes, think about it. Think about what is being asked of you to do, does it make sense? Does it sound realistic? And then tell two people. Tell two of your friends, run it by them.”
The victim says if he had done that at the beginning, things might have turned out differently.
“If I had done that initially and thought that thought, none of those, none of this would have happened.”
Police are reminding residents to be especially cautious if someone promises unusually high or guaranteed investment returns, contacts them unexpectedly about an investment opportunity, or asks them to transfer money into cryptocurrency.
Police also warn about online accounts that show significant profits but don't allow you to withdraw the money.
They say people should take time to verify an investment before sending any money, and be particularly cautious with cryptocurrency because those transactions can be difficult to reverse.
"If you believe you or someone you know has been the victim of a fraud, contact your financial institution and police as soon as possible. Remember, if an investment sounds too good to be true, take five minutes and tell two people before making a decision that could be very costly," police stated.
