'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam

Romance scammer met victim before stealing $14K Paige Harkness said she felt like her romance scammer groomed her for four years, meeting with her twice before stealing $14,000 from her.

Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.

“He asked me if I’m single. I said yes, I am single. He seemed to be in love with me and he wanted to know more about me,” said Rama, who asked CTV News Toronto to not identify her to protect her identity.

Rama told CTV News she was on Facebook when she connected with a man who claimed he was a captain of a cruise ship in the United Kingdom.

The man told her as the captain, he found it difficult to get to see her in Canada but he professed his love for her and started sending her gifts of designer purses, watches and jewelry.

However, the man claimed the shipment of gifts got tied up at the Canadian border and told her she needed to pay brokerage fees, taxes, insurance and other costs which he would later return.

Before long she spent $62,000 trying to get the items, but it was all a scam.

“Oh my gosh, I feel like I’m so broken. I’m so broke because I took out all my life savings and even took out my line of credit of $54,000,” said Rama.

Another woman who also was looking for love online actually met a man in person who years later contacted her with an investment scheme.

“I feel like he groomed me for four years to make me comfortable before he did this,” said Paige Harkness, who is shocked that she was duped by the man.

Harkness told CTV News Toronto she decided to try online dating four years ago. While using a telephone dating site, she connected with a man and they met in person twice. He wore a tailored suit, said he flew by private jets and managed a hedge fund.

“He was always flying private and I had no reason to question it due to the success he had and the company he worked for,” said Harkness.

She said she never saw him again but several times a year he would send her a text to say hello. Recently, he contacted her to say he had a surefire investment opportunity.

She ended up losing the investment and being scammed out of $14,000.

“This is going to be $14,000 of my money that I took out on a line of credit against my home. All my other bills have to be paid, and I’m juggling them as it is,” Harkness said.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), 1,190 victims lost $52,477,512 to romance fraud in 2023, and romance scams are number three on the top 10 scams list, based on overall reported dollar loss.

The CAFC says to look out for signs of a romance scam. These include when someone declares their love for you quickly, when they make excuses not to meet in person, when you’re told not to discuss the relationship with others, and when you’re asked for money for travel or for an emergency.

Both women say they should have seen these red flags sooner and wanted to share their stories to warn others.

“I feel so stupid because this could have been avoided. I probably should have gone to the police from the beginning,” said Rama.

Scammers will create dating profiles with stolen photos and information that are tailored to the type of person you’re looking for. Artificial intelligence may give criminals even more of an advantage to fool people looking for love online.