A Toronto man has lost his entire life’s savings after a months-long online relationship with someone he met on a dating app, making him one of the latest victims in a scam targeting thousands of Canadians each year.
The ordeal for David Aning began back in March when he swiped right on a profile.
“I’ve been single for about three years and just decided to try my luck again at another relationship.”
That’s where he began communicating with a man who called himself “Pierre,” who said he lived in California.
“Because I have a friend who lives in Los Angeles, it didn’t seem like it would be an issue, so I decided to communicate with him.”
Aning says there were no initial alarm bells, and from the beginning, he took proper steps to ensure the person he was communicating with matched the profile photos.
“Right away, I asked that he take a picture with a sign that said the date and time so that I would know he was like a real person,” he said. “I then immediately asked to have a video call with him, and the conversation seemed fine; he seemed legit.”
The two communicated almost daily for several months. Pierre seemed to match Aning’s values.
“I am a very altruistic person and involved in various charities, and he also built up the fact that he too donated to similar causes.”
Their conversations dived into each one’s life goals and aspirations; Aning had mentioned that he wanted to continue his education by pursuing an Executive MBA.
“I was telling him that it’s going to cost upwards of $120,000. And he mentioned he could help with that.”
Help – but not by giving him money; instead, he asked him to invest in a cryptocurrency platform.
“He said he was working with an aunt who had success on this platform, so he sent me a link.”
Aning said everything about the platform looked legitimate.
“He told me I would be putting money into this account and he would show me how to trade some options so that I could then make a little bit of money.”
According to the platform, the investment appeared to be paying off – at least on paper. That is, until that is Aning tried to make a withdrawal.
“And that’s when, you know, I wasn’t able to get my money out of the site.”
In paperwork Aning shared with Speakers Corner, several deposits were made from Aning’s account, totaling nearly $200,000.
“I began reaching out to Pierre and the platform but getting no response.”
ANING JOINS A GROWING LIST OF OTHER VICTIMS
More than 1,000 Canadians fell victim to similar types of romance scams in 2024, according to the latest statistics released from The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The combined losses amount to more than $58 million.
While it may be easy for those who read this to say victims like Aning should have known better, experts say if you do, you’re missing a key point.
“The people behind these scams are well trained on how to tap into the psychology behind attracting victims,” said Vanessa Iafolla, an Anti-Fraud Intelligence Consultant based in Halifax.
“They promise someone the world by tapping into the basic need of all of us, which is to be loved, to be wanted,” she said. “Part of the problem, too, is that as humans it is our nature to be trusting, so when we meet somebody and say ‘Hey, you seem like a worthwhile person, let me get to know you.’”
A key trait that many scam artists have mastered is the art of manipulation.
“This is their full-time job, and you have to remember that these scammers in many instances are part of a vast organized cluster of people who are working day and night to ensure that they are making money off of their victims.”
JUSTICE HARD TO FIND, VICTIMS SAY
Victims like Aning are not only left financially devastated, but they also face an uphill battle in retrieving the money they’ve lost or even tracking down the suspects accused of taking it.
Aning filed a report with both the FBI in the U.S. and the Toronto Police, who assigned a detective from their Financial Crimes unit and is investigating, but Aning says he was told by the detective that the chances of retrieving his lost funds are slim.
“I was basically told they’ve never recovered money in these types of scams, which is so disheartening. Like, I have his photos, contact information, I’ve provided documents to investigators.”
When it comes to cryptocurrency, tracking down the money is incredibly difficult.
“One of the problems with this kind of scam is that once the money leaves, there are like infinite ways that it could be broken up; it is very hard to trace,” said Iafolla.
Speakers Corner initiated conversations via WhatsApp with the person Aning has accused of taking his money. While the person responded initially, they cut off the conversation as soon as we asked for comment.
“I’m sure he’s on to the next victim,” Aning said. “And that’s what’s sad, isn’t there a way to track him down and at least have him face these accusations in court?”
While Toronto police assured Aning they are working on the case, they have not said whether they’re close to finding the person responsible.
“These types of scams are skyrocketing,” Aning said. “And until Canada has more investigative power to go after these people, they will just keep growing.”
Iafolla, who works with hundreds of scam victims, says the road to justice is a very difficult one.
“I’ve seen more results come from private cyber hacking vigilantes or by private asset recovery firms than I have from victims who’ve actually dealt with police in any meaningful way,” she said. “If anything, what we’ve learned from public reporting on what the police are doing is they are much better at finding the cell, the organized crime group, bringing them to prosecution but otherwise it’s not so much getting your money back because as far as police are concerned once the money is gone, it’s gone.”
Aning, who has now likely lost his life savings he has worked years to accumulate, decided to speak out to warn others. He says no matter how long you talk with someone, or how deep you may think your connection is, tread with caution.
“I can’t go back, but still this hasn’t left me to where I won’t date again. I am still a trusting person, just never again with finances,” he said. “I don’t know how I’m going to recover from this situation. It’s impacted my mental health, dramatically. I know that there are services for victims like myself, but a lot of that is remedied by police helping to get my money back.”
“If this is an electronic thing, if it’s all digital, don’t send them money. Because if somebody really loves you, they’re not going to want to take from you, they’re going to want to enrich your life, at least in the very early stages,” Iafolla added.
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