© Provided by Toronto Sun An advertisement for Bitcoin cryptocurrency is displayed on a street in Hong Kong, Feb. 17, 2022. Bitcoin slumped to a two-year low, Wednesday, Nov. 9, and other digital assets sold off following the sudden collapse of crypto exchange FTX Trading, which has been forced to sell itself to larger rival Binance. Toronto Police say they were able to recover most of $400,000 in Bitcoin cryptocurrency that was allegedly taken in an online investment scam.
Authorities were contacted by a man who alleged he and his wife had been solicited online to invest in an online platform called 'cryptos-seed.com' and sent the money to a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange to a cryptocurrency wallet.
But when the complainant, who saw his "investment" grow significantly wanted to withdraw funds he was met with many excuses, asked to invest more money or pay large fees for the release.
The man said all of communication was done over the phone to the scammer who may be in another country.
Enter the Toronto Police Cyber Unit and Financial Crimes Unit who were able to recover a significant portion of the lost funds and return them to the complainant.
RECOMMENDED VIDEOHowever, the investigation is ongoing and attempts are being made to identify those involved.
Police are asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim in this alleged scam to contact police via email at 10767@tps.ca, 416-808-7300, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or www.222tips.com.
Investigators are also telling the public to be cautious when solicited online for any sort of investments and those looking to invest in cryptocurrency to check with the Ontario Securities Commission which has a list of registered and approved exchanges that can be found on its website.