Manitoba senior loses $2M in life savings to crypto scam

A Manitoba senior recently lost $2 million to a cryptocurrency scheme. Joseph Bernacki has more.

The Manitoba Securities Commission (MSC) has issued a warning after a local senior lost $2 million in life savings to a crypto scam.

According to the MSC, the scam involved using artificial intelligence to create a fraudulent and unregistered business called Fargo Investor with a realistic-looking website.

The government agency said others may have invested in or been approached by Fargo Investor and encourages them to get in touch with the MSC investigations team.

Market and surveillance investigator Tyler Ritchie said MSC is seeing a rise in investment scams targeting seniors, especially with artificial intelligence.

“After you sign up, someone will call and pressure you to invest around $300, then show you bogus profits to build your trust,” he said.

“These ruthless scammers could spend years trying to drain someone’s bank account—so it’s important to learn and practice fraud detection skills to better protect yourself and your money online.”

Ritchie said it’s currently unclear where the fraudulent company was located but said many of these scammers target Canadians from outside of the country.

MSC urges Manitobans to look closely at advertisements for signs of falsehood, including spelling mistakes, inconsistencies and celebrity-endorsed investment opportunities.

Nationwide, overall reported loss to investment fraud is over $1 billion since 2022, according to Jeff Horncastle, client and communications outreach officer with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Before investing, always check if the firm or broker is registered on AreTheyRegistered.ca. If they aren’t registered, this means they are unqualified and you should call 1-855-FRAUD-MB or email [e-mail].

-With files from CTV’s Joseph Bernacki