A Nanaimo senior says he is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy after losing nearly $100,000 to a cryptocurrency scam.
Robert Dunning, a 74-year-old retired electrician, said his chequing, savings, line of credit and credit card accounts were cleaned out over a two-week period this fall after he set up online banking and invested $250 in Bitcoin.
B次元官网网址淚 wanted to try this out, so I put in the minimum amount of money, which I recall was about $250 and I wanted to just leave that there and see what happened,B次元官网网址� Dunning said.
The next day he received a phone call from someone claiming to be a trader with an online brokerage who said he could help Dunning get started.
B次元官网网址淚 had to show a photo of my driverB次元官网网址檚 licence and this person already had my e-mail and my phone number,B次元官网网址� Dunning said. B次元官网网址淗e said youB次元官网网址檙e going to have to have online banking for this to work.B次元官网网址�
Dunning activated his online banking and was contacted the next day.
B次元官网网址淗e phoned B次元官网网址� and said, B次元官网网址極K now you can get started and youB次元官网网址檝e already made a profit from that original investment and now you need to invest more money.B次元官网网址� I said B次元官网网址榥o, I donB次元官网网址檛 want to invest any more money, I just want to see what happens with this first,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Dunning said.
At one point, he said, the caller took control of his computer remotely and Dunning watched as the caller browsed through his accounts during the set-up procedure, assuring him that everything looked good to proceed with trading.
B次元官网网址淏ut unknown to me, he had access to my online banking through my computer and he withdrew money out of my accounts and I donB次元官网网址檛 know what he did with it. ItB次元官网网址檚 gone,B次元官网网址� Dunning said.
The trader called every weekday to say Dunning was making B次元官网网址渁mazing profitsB次元官网网址� on his investments. Dunning wondered how that could be, but didnB次元官网网址檛 know money was being moved from accounts for almost two full weeks during which time he said he received no warnings from his bank.
B次元官网网址淭he way I found out I had no money left I was at the grocery store and my card was denied. So I went straight to the bank and the teller said B次元官网网址� thereB次元官网网址檚 less than $1 in your account,B次元官网网址� he said.
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All told, Dunning said about $101,000 was stolen, which included $30,000 from his line of credit, about $9,000 from his chequing account, $37,000 from his savings account and $25,000 on his credit card. Dunning said BMO conducted an investigation into the theft and concluded it could not take any responsibility.
B次元官网网址淥n the very last day that money was being withdrawn, I got a warning on my phone that said MasterCard alert, but nothing before thatB次元官网网址次元官网网址滵unning said. B次元官网网址淚 went into the bank to find out what has happened and the young bank manager, she said to me, we canB次元官网网址檛 help you with this. You must have assisted this person to get into your online banking, so because of that we canB次元官网网址檛 help you.B次元官网网址�
Nanaimo RCMP confirmed Dunning filed a complaint to police about the scam.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 very little we can do,B次元官网网址� said Const. Gary OB次元官网网址橞rien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. B次元官网网址淲e know that once Bitcoin is purchased itB次元官网网址檚 basically an invisible currency transaction and it is far beyond what we are capable of tracking. If we can take anything from this is there are tell-tale characteristics that individual must be aware of, whether itB次元官网网址檚 Bitcoin or the grandfather scam or the CRA scam, is that the individual he entered into a transaction with was asking for more and more money. Right there is the red flag. ThatB次元官网网址檚 where individuals must stop.B次元官网网址�
Dunning said itB次元官网网址檚 difficult to recover from such a financial hit at his age and he still hopes his bank will do something to cover his losses.
B次元官网网址淲e all know theyB次元官网网址檙e insured for these things and IB次元官网网址檓 not expecting to get back my savings, but I didnB次元官网网址檛 expect to be stuckB次元官网网址次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 just about forced in to bankruptcy. ItB次元官网网址檚 pretty close.B次元官网网址�
To learn more or to report online fraud, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at .
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