Guelph man scammed out of thousands of dollars for the 2nd time

A Guelph man has been scammed out of thousands of dollars for the second time and police are warning people to always be aware of who you're dealing with when conducting business, particularly online.

Police say the man in his 60s had previously lost $750,000 in a cryptocurrency fraud. 

On Friday, he went to see police to report another fraud, this time for $12,000. The man says he was contacted by a person who said they could help him recover his lost money. They asked him to download an app and create an account for an online financial institution.

"The victim unfortunately downloaded an app, which gave the fraudster control of his cellphone," police spokesperson Scott Tracey told CBC News.

The $12,000 was taken from the man's accounts through a number of transactions in late December and early January.

This is the second scam Tracey is aware of where the victim of fraud has been revictimized. In December, police reported a woman fell for a very similar scam and lost more than $70,000. She thought she was investing in cryptocurrency, then after she lost that money a person contacted her to say they could help her recover her money and was scammed again.

"The message to the public is always: Be aware of who you're speaking to, be suspicious of especially people who contact you, know who you're dealing with and how you know cryptocurrency works before you get involved in it. Just take every precaution you can to protect yourself," Tracey said.

He added these kinds of scams can be very difficult for police to investigate and the chances are slim of recouping a person's money.

Tracey added the emails and websites might look convincing, but there are ways to tell if they're not legit. That includes looking for minor changes in email addresses or website links and verifying they're for legitimate companies. People can also make sure investment companies are registered with a provincial securities regulator or look them up on the National Registration Search Tool website called AreTheyRegistered.ca.

If an email seems suspicious, even if it's from a friend, ask questions, Tracey said. Sometimes fraudsters will use hacked accounts to contact potential victims.

"The scammers who are running these frauds, this is what they do. They're very good at it unfortunately," he said. "They are very convincing and that's why people fall for it."