An Ontario mother hoping to invest money to help her son with autism said she lost more than $7,000 that she invested in an online investment platform.
“That money was to take care of my child who has autism. I am so stressed and devastated. That money was to support him,” Shivaun Taylor of Toronto told CTV News.
Taylor said she was searching through TikTok when she came across a news report showing that someone who started investing only $250 was now making $28,000 a month.
“The news story said a police officer was making thousands of dollars a month. That made me get really interested and I just signed up,” said Taylor.
Someone called Taylor the next day after she contacted the investment platform and told her to start investing in cryptocurrencies with a small investment of $250. Over time, Taylor was convinced to put in more money until she had invested $7,250.
Taylor said when she wanted to take the money out, she couldn’t.
“My money is not in that platform anymore,” said Taylor.
Later, she discovered that the news report she had watched was not real and had been manipulated using artificial intelligence.
Similar investment scams have used deepfake videos of Elon Musk and other celebrities.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, during the first half of 2023, 1,742 victims lost $16,363,182 in investment scams.
Karen McGuinness, the head of the office of the investor with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), a body overseeing investment dealers and trading activity, told CTV News Toronto investors need to be careful where they put their money — especially if it’s in cryptocurrency.
“It’s really important to understand who you are getting your advice from,” said McGuinness, who added, “If someone can make these returns on a no-risk basis, why are they asking for your money? They would be doing it on their own and making their own profit.”
According to the Better Business Bureau, some signs of an investment scam include promises of fast, easy returns with no risk, unsolicited investment offers that come out of the blue and pressure to act fast.
Some investment scams may include buzzwords like ‘patented,’ ‘tested, ‘ and ‘ proven strategies’ or have illegitimate celebrity testimonials.
Taylor says she was investing the money to help her son.
“I’m now so stressed to lose this money, and it’s really affecting me,” said Taylor.
