Guelph man loses $188K U.S. in crypto scam

The Guelph Police Service is reminding residents to be cautious when dealing with people online after a Guelph man said he lost $188,000 U.S. in a cryptocurrency scam.

The victim said he met a male in the summer through an online chat forum and believed he knew him from his childhood overseas. Police said between September and the end of November, the victim transferred $188,000 U.S. through a series of transactions for the purposes of buying cryptocurrency.

When the victim was asked this week to pay an additional 30 per cent “verification fee” he called police.

“Residents are urged to be extremely cautious when communicating online with anyone they do not know personally,” police said in a media release. “Transfers to recipients in other countries are extremely difficult to trace and the chance of recouping lost funds is low.”

Anyone who suspects they’ve been the victim of cybercrime or fraud is encouraged to report it to their local police and to the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre’s online reporting system or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.