Jason Tschetter of Camrose, Alberta wanted to invest to help his growing family and researched cryptocurrencies before putting some money into a trading platform online.
But he was shocked to find out that the platform he used was a front for thieves and he ended up losing $81,000.
“In a time of uncertainty like this you have to wonder how you are going to keep food on the table,” Tschetter told CTV News Toronto.
“We are devastated, and our family is devastated. I’ve had to go back to work on a seven-day rotation to work everyday. Losing this much money has ruined things.”
Juliana Fairburn of Scarborough, Ont. invested in cryptocurrencies after a friend suggested she could do it to make extra money.
Fairburn put $30,000 into a cryptocurrency trading platform, funds she needs as a down payment for a condo she plans to purchase.
Jason Tschetter of Camrose, Alberta lost $81,000 in a scam. (Supplied)
For the past six months she has been trying to get the money back, but she is locked out of her trading account and no one is answering her calls or emails.
“I’ve already accepted that maybe the money is gone, but I really need that money back,” Fairburn said. “That money we put into this cryptocurrency investment is needed for the closing costs for the condo we bought.”
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) said that cryptocurrency fraud is now the number one scam in Canada with investors young and old falling for crypto scams online.
“It’s unfortunate because a lot of Canadians are interested in cryptocurrencies right now because they think they are going to become rich fast,” said Jessie St-Cyr, the Communications manager for the BBB serving Canada’s Northern Capital Region and Quebec.
The BBB said thieves are using social media to lure people onto websites that look real, but are actually fronts for criminal activity.
Victims start investing small amounts of money and put in more and more and while it appears their investments are going up, when they try to take money out – they can’t.
“Older people are losing their savings and we’ve heard of people losing their houses and everything,” said St-Cyr who added “We’ve heard from consumers who lost $180,000 and another person who lost $90,000.”
Tschetter has started a website to help other victims of cryptocurrency scams to try and raise awareness of what’s happening because many people who have been scammed feel like they have nowhere to turn.
“I want to fight back because the only way we can do that is to get the victims of fraud to come forward,” said Tschetter.
Both victims used the Shakepay service to invest in cryptocurrencies. The Montreal based technology company says it provides financial applications for building wealth.
CTV News Toronto reached out to the company about the scams involving cryptocurrencies and a spokesperson said in a statement “Shakepay is a regulated Money Service Business (MSB) that complies with consumer protection laws and takes the protection and security of our customers seriously. Unfortunately, like any financial services company, whether they deal with Canadian dollars or cryptocurrencies, we are not immune to the threat of scammers and fraudsters who seek to take advantage of our customers.”
“Shakepay allows its customers to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrency from their account as they please, similar to a wire transfer in the traditional financial system, except that blockchain transactions are immutable and irreversible. We have compliance and fraud prevention controls in place to detect, deter , and limit the risks associated with customers being scammed.For example, prior to customers sending their first cryptocurrency transfer, a pop-up screen notifies them that blockchain transactions are irreversible and that they should be wary of any potential scams or fraudulent requests.”
If you’ve been the victim of a cryptocurrency scam, you should report it to the police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center and watch out for offers to invest in crypto in texts, e-mails or on social media platforms.