'It starts off innocent': Manitoba man loses $185,000 to crypto-romance scam

A Manitoba man is warning others after he fell victim to an elaborate online scam over the summer.

In a matter of months, 62-year-old Ernie Kiss lost $185,000 in what experts describe as a cryptocurrency romance scam.

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The incident has forced Kiss, a retired pilot and airplane mechanic, back into the workforce.

“You know, it starts off innocent,” Kiss told CTV News Wednesday. “It starts off with a little bit of money here and there, and it’s all good – and it’s not.”

In April, Kiss said he received an Instagram message from a woman named Angela, who said she was a plastic surgeon in California with a keen interest in learning how to fly.

“We seemed to hit off back and forth. We made some phone calls and videos – the whole bit,” Kiss explained. “I was going to go down to see her.”

When Angela started telling him about investing in artificial intelligence, Kiss said he saw it as an opportunity to earn some passive income.

“At first, I put a couple thousand dollars and everything was fine. According to the little thing they have [on the app], it was making money, and I could withdraw money.”

Angela encouraged him to invest more money to boost his profits. So, in went his life savings along with money borrowed from his sons. However, it was all too good to be true.

Kiss said Angela came up with excuses when he booked trips to visit her in California. In one instance, she had to fly to London to care for her sister.

“I had bought my ticket and hotel and everything, so I cancelled that,” he said. “And she sent me pictures from London, or at least I thought they were from London.”

A short time later, he booked a second trip, but Angela came up with another excuse last second.

“That’s when I started realizing this could be a farce. We seemed to be getting along fine, but I was always a little skeptical,” Kiss said. “A friend of mine sat me down and said, ‘You know, this is a scam.’”

Kiss said he confronted Angela about it, and he never heard from her again.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) said these types of cyber crimes are common. The scammer gains the victim’s trust, convinces them to invest in fake online platforms, and then disappears with their money.

As of Aug. 31, 167 crypto-romance scams totalling $5.4 million have been reported to the CAFC.

"I know this sounds ridiculous, but we always tell our children not to talk to strangers. Well, I think, you know, just be vigilant and be very careful who you're speaking to and verify that they are truly that person,” CAFC’s Nancy Cahill told CTV News.

The CFAC said warning signs include:

• Profiles that seem too perfect;
• Someone you haven’t met in person professes their love to you;
• A suspect that tries to move communication to a more private or different method of communication (email, text, social media platform, etc.);
• Any attempts to meet in person get cancelled or there’s always an excuse to not meet up;
• A person who discourages you from talking about them to friends and family;
• A suspect acting distressed or angry to force you into sending more money; and
• Poorly written messages or messages addressed to the wrong name.

The organization said to avoid sharing personal information online, delete friend requests from strangers, and never invest money through unfamiliar platforms.

“As soon as somebody asks you for money or to invest in something, that's a huge red flag and caution should be taken steps should be taken to, you know, check the validity of those types of things,” Sgt. Trevor Thompson, the financial crimes unit supervisor with the Winnipeg Police Service, told CTV News. "You know, 99 per cent of the time, you’re going to find yourself in a situation where you're potentially going to be victimized.”

The head of the WPS financial crimes unit said it’s imperative to report cyber crimes like crypto-romance scams.

“If we don't know about it, we can't action it,” Thompson said.

Kiss said he plans to file reports with the RCMP and CAFC. However, he doesn’t expect his money to be returned. He wants other people to be aware these scams can happen to anyone.

“It’s hard. I trust people too easily – I always have. And now, I got bit,” Kiss said.

Crypto-romance scams and other types of fraud can be reported online through the CAFC.