Deepfake crypto scams drain $2.3M from Canadian victims

Two Canadians from Ontario and Charlottetown lost a combined $2.3 million to a deepfake crypto scam.

According to an investigation by W5, Canadians are being heavily targeted by cryptocurrency scams that rely on artificial intelligence. Many victims realize it is a scam only after their life savings are gone.

Crypto scammers target Canadians with deepfake videos

A 51 year old woman from Markham, Ontario, lost $1.7 million, and a man from Prince Edward Island lost $600,000. Both believed they were investing through legitimate crypto platforms.

The Ontario woman said she first saw a video on Facebook that appeared to show Elon Musk speaking about a crypto investment. The video promised fast profits from a small initial deposit. But the clip wasn’t real and Musk’s image and voice had been digitally altered.

The victim sent $250 and, after two days, earned a profit of $30. That return convinced her that the platform was real. She was encouraged to invest more and was shown documents that appeared to confirm her money was growing.

“I applied for almost a million dollars on the equity of my home. I took it out and I started sending it to them. Right? Like $350,000 and then $350,000,” said the victim.

After sending the amount, the scammers told the victim her account was worth $3 million. But to withdraw any funds, she had to pay taxes and fees.

To cover those costs, she borrowed $500,000 from family and friends and maxed out her credit cards. She lost a total of $1.7 million.

The man from Prince Edward Island followed a similar path. He saw an online video that appeared to promote a crypto investment linked to the TV show Dragon’s Den. The video claimed people could start investing with $250.

He sent small amounts and slowly increased his investments. At one point, he was sending $10,000 daily. His total losses reached $600,000.

Like the Ontario woman, he was shown fake balances suggesting his investment had grown to more than $1 million. When he tried to withdraw the funds, he was blocked.

Together, the two Canadians lost $2.3 million.

Canadians have lost $1.2 billion to investment scams in three years, but the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) believes actual losses are higher.

Crypto scams run like a global industry

Former U.S. prosecutor Erin West says the fraud is run like an industry. She now investigates cryptocurrency scams full time.

West says many people making the scam calls are victims themselves. They are trafficked to scam compounds in Southeast Asia and forced to work long hours. Those who refuse or try to escape are beaten or tortured.

West visited cyber fraud compounds in the Philippines and described their scale as shocking. Some sites contain dozens of buildings designed only for scamming.

Inside, workers spend long hours contacting victims and building trust. The goal is to keep victims investing by selling them the idea of a better future.

Over 50 scam compounds were located in Cambodia after an investigation by Amnesty International. Survivors reported being beaten if they failed to comply.

West said fear and violence are what keep the system running. The money taken from victims flows to organized crime groups.

She also criticized social media platforms for failing to stop AI-generated scam ads. She said these platforms allow criminals to reach ordinary people at scale.

Meta said scam ads violate its policies and that it removes deceptive content when detected. The company said it is investing in detection systems and review teams.

West said the situation is getting worse. Crackdowns in Southeast Asia are pushing organized crime groups to move operations to Latin America and Africa.

She said stopping the scams requires cutting off access to victims before they are drawn in.

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