At 72, Yvette thought she had met a lover through social networks. Instead, she fell victim to a scam that resulted in her losing almost all of her savings.
Yvette has worked as an administrative secretary all her life and lives on her retirement income. In addition to her employer’s pension plan, she receives the QPP and Old Age Security pensions for a total of $3,200 per month. She lives alone in a residence for independent seniors, and despite government subsidies for seniors, her apartment costs her $2,500 a month.
So he only has $700 left to pay for his healthcare costs, groceries and some personal expenses. “I don’t have a car and travel by public transport. I have $4,000 saved in a savings account, but I’m not digging in gold,” she says.
A love scam
Yvette also has to pay off $25,000 of her credit limit and also has a $5,000 balance on her credit card. She no longer has any financial flexibility and is no longer able to make the minimum monthly payments. She therefore decided to consult the licensed insolvency administrator Jean Fortin et Associés. “Our advisors are seeing more and more cases of romance fraud. Sometimes these are huge amounts and such situations can lead to a bankruptcy filing or a consumer proposal,” explains President Pierre Fortin.
- Listen to Isabelle Maréchal’s column on romance fraud via Mario Dumont’s microphone QUB radio :
As for Yvette, it is $40,000 over more than a year in several small amounts that she sent to a man she met on social media who showered her with beautiful words and made her believe that he has romantic feelings for her. The septuagenarian came under the control of this person, who reportedly lives in France. By the time she realized it was a scam, it was too late and the man had disappeared from radar screens. She filed a police report, but unfortunately the authorities could do nothing to help her.
Victim of fraud
Yvette is ashamed of having been cheated on, but also feels embarrassed, sad and isolated.
“It is unfortunate that fraudsters exploit vulnerable people and extort money from them without any real legal recourse.” Police resources are limited. They try to prevent, but many people still fall into the clutches of scammers. The latter master the game of seduction and manage to build a relationship of trust with their victim and have amounts of money sent to them under various pretexts,” complains Pierre Fortin.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, romance scams are the second type of fraud that caused the greatest financial losses to Canadians in 2021. In fact, last year there were 1,928 complaints totaling 18 $5 million stolen. “No one is safe and these scams can affect all socio-economic classes,” warns Pierre Fortin.
Yvette finally decided to submit a consumer proposal whereby she will pay her creditors $125 for 60 months. She is then released from her $30,000 debt. To improve his household situation, Jean Fortin’s advisor also recommended that he speak to the manager of his building to find cheaper housing. She will thus be able to remain in an environment in which she feels safe, but at a more reasonable price relative to her means.
ADVICE:
- FADOQ recommends that you exercise caution when using social networks and, if in doubt, talk to people you trust about it.
- Never send money to a virtual friend or share your banking or personal information. Don’t make decisions in a hurry or under pressure.
- The Sûreté du Québec, partner of the Aîné Avisé program, has developed two tools to prevent romance fraud: Is my relationship safe? and turning away from fraud.
- For more information and to report fraud: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, www.antifraude-centreantifraude.ca, toll free 1 888 495-8501.