Barrie Man Loses $200K in Cryptocurrency Investment Scam

A 78-year-old man from Barrie lost approximately $200,000 to a cryptocurrency investment scam in 2025.

According to the Barrie Police Fraud Unit, the victim began communicating with someone on social media in February 2025, who developed a relationship with him over several months and convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency.

The scammers eventually gained access to the victim's accounts and transferred large sums of money into cryptocurrency accounts that he couldn't access.

In an interview with police, the victim stated, 'So they proceeded to take about everything I had, and I let them, thinking it was to my benefit. Yeah, all my savings, uh, the house I paid for, it's gone. And I didn't know what to do with myself.'

Police warn that scammers use a combination of romance, social media, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency to gain their victims' trust.