2023-12-02 05:00:00
At 72, Yvette thought she had met a lover through social networks. Instead, she was the victim of a scam that caused her to lose almost all of her savings.
Yvette has worked all her life as an administrative secretary and lives off her retirement income. In addition to her employer’s pension fund, she receives the QPP and the Old Age Security pension, 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 monthly.
So he only has $700 left to pay for his health costs, groceries and some personal expenses. “I don’t have a car and I travel by public transport. I have some savings of $4,000 in a savings account, but I’m not rolling in gold,” she says.
A love scam
Yvette also has to repay $25,000 on her line of credit and also has a balance of $5,000 on her credit card. She has no financial room to maneuver and is no longer able to make the minimum payments due each month. She therefore decided to consult the authorized insolvency trustee Jean Fortin et Associés. “Our advisors are seeing cases of romantic fraud more and more often. Sometimes, the sums involved are enormous and these situations can lead to the filing of bankruptcy or a consumer proposal,” explains its president, Pierre Fortin.
As for Yvette, it’s $40,000 over more than a year in several small amounts that she sent to a man she met on social networks, who flooded her with beautiful words and made her believe that he had romantic feelings for her. The septuagenarian fell under the control of this individual who reportedly lives in France. When she realized it was a fraud, it was too late, and the man had disappeared from the radar screens. She filed a police report, but unfortunately there was nothing the authorities might do to help her.
Victim of fraud
Ashamed of having been tricked, Yvette also feels embarrassed, sad and isolated.
“It is regrettable to see that fraudsters are taking advantage of vulnerable people, extracting money from them, without there being any real legal recourse. Police services have limited resources. They try to do prevention, but many people are still caught in the net of fraudsters. The latter are skilled in the game of seduction and succeed in establishing a bond of trust with their victim and in having sums of money sent to them under different pretexts,” laments Pierre Fortin.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center, romance scams constitute the second type of fraud that resulted in the greatest financial losses for Canadians in 2021. There were in fact 1,928 complaints last year for a total of 18, $5 million stolen. “No one is safe and these frauds can affect all socio-economic classes,” warns Pierre Fortin.
Yvette finally decided to make a consumer proposal under which she will pay $125 for 60 months to her creditors. She will then be freed from her debts of $30,000. To improve his budgetary situation, Jean Fortin’s advisor also recommended that he speak with the manager of his building to find more affordable housing. She will thus be able to remain in an environment where she feels safe, but at a more reasonable cost, taking into account her means.
ADVICE:
FADOQ recommends that you exercise caution when using social networks and, if in doubt, talk regarding it with members of your entourage who you trust. Never send money to a virtual friend or give out your banking or personal information. Do not make decisions in a hurry and under pressure. The Sûreté du Québec, partner of the Aîné-Avisé program, has developed two love fraud prevention tools: Is my relationship safe?? et Break with fraud. For more information and to report fraud: Canadian Anti-Fraud Center, www.antifraude-centreantifraude.catoll-free number 1 888 495-8501.
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