TORONTO — A Toronto man is speaking out after losing $80,000 in a romance scam, hoping his story will serve as a warning to others as advocacy groups push for tougher fraud prevention measures in Canada.
Hugo Sanchez told CTV News Toronto that he fell victim to the scam during one of the most vulnerable periods of his life. “My separation was a tragic experience,” Sanchez said. “I was very vulnerable and I was not in my best stage and I did some internet surfing.”
Following the end of his marriage last year, Sanchez began looking for companionship online. That’s when he met a woman named Lina through social media. She claimed to live in Seattle, and the two quickly developed a relationship. They communicated mostly through text messages, although they also had a few video calls — enough, Sanchez said, to make the relationship feel real.
Within weeks, Lina convinced Sanchez to invest in cryptocurrency schemes, promising that he would triple his money. Over time, he transferred $80,000 to what he believed were investment accounts. “I felt devastated,” Sanchez said. “It was my savings, and I also lost money I didn’t have.”
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), romance scams remain one of the most common and financially damaging frauds in the country. So far this year, 778 Canadians have collectively lost more than $54.6 million to romance scams. While victims span all age groups, seniors are typically the most targeted demographic.
Anthony Quinn, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), said the growing prevalence and sophistication of these scams require a stronger response. “These crimes are not small crimes and they rob people of their savings and their trust in other people,” Quinn said.
CARP is calling for mandatory fraud prevention measures at banks and telecommunications companies, including trusted contact programs and better data-sharing mechanisms to help identify and stop scams earlier. Quinn argued that financial institutions must play a larger role in protecting clients. “If you lost $80,000 to $100,000, that money has to be transferred out of your accounts using an electronic system run by the banks, and I think it is incumbent on the banks to play more of a role in protecting their clients,” he said.
For Sanchez, the emotional toll was as devastating as the financial loss. “I basically was thinking, ‘this might be real, this might be something that makes sense,’” he said. “But in the end everything was fake.”
Authorities and advocacy groups continue to urge Canadians to be cautious when forming online relationships, especially when money becomes part of the conversation.