After losing about $85,000 to identity theft in 2025, pensioners Joe and Sadie Smith, of St. Thomas, are nearly broke and struggling to keep their home.
“I am so embarrassed,” said Mr. Smith, his voice cracking with emotions as he described the dreadful experience at a fraud prevention session hosted by Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton. “I just fell apart.
“We’ve been married 52 years, and she got so upset she left for four days,” Mr. Smith said in an interview after the public meeting at CASO Station, on March 18. “It’s been a disaster and I’ve lost everything.”
Mr. Smith said his woes started soon after viewing a “deepfake” video purporting to portray Canada’s Prime Minister promoting a “guaranteed” cryptocurrency investment scheme. The faked video was often broadcast on YouTube and Facebook in 2025 and was referred to by several of the 60 participants at the public meeting.
The video was confirmed as a fabrication by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
However Mr. Smith fell for it and invested $350. He was later contacted by telephone and someone describing himself as a lawyer from a Toronto firm said that Mr. Smith’s “crypto wallet” had accumulated $164,000 and the fraudster offered to help him retrieve it.
“I got on there (the bogus law firm’s website) and he got into my email, he started taking over my computer, and he took us for $85,000,” Mr. Smith told the public meeting.
“Basically, what they did was wire fraud, and identity theft,” he said. “They took a picture of my licence on both sides. They said it was for their clients’ records. They took my picture and put it on their file and it turned out they took out four loans in my name, using the file that had my picture and my driver’s license on it.
“Then people started contacting me and said, one (loan) was for $6,774 and they said it’s not a scam because they took your licence picture,” he explained, “and I said that’s still wire fraud, and they said you’re still going to have to pay it. So, we don’t have any faith (voice cracking) sorry.”
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) data shows that Canadians lost over $704 million to fraud in 2025 – compared to $638 million in 2024 – with reported losses since 2022 exceeding $2.4 billion.
The CAFC received over 112,000 reports of fraud in 2025. The centre estimates its statistics represent just five-to-10 percent of actual fraud cases, and suggests actual losses are $7 billion. The police fraud clearance rate is about 12 percent, according to the CAFC.
St. Thomas Police Service (STPS) Sgt. Jacob Beaton, of the Criminal Investigation Branch, and Constable Tammy Voth helped MP Lawton guide a Q&A session after their presentations, confirming the CAFC reports and explaining that many scams are now operated by international organized crime groups.
“People are falling victim to scams because the scammers and fraudsters are getting very sophisticated in what they do,” said MP Lawton. “My office wants to make sure that you all have the best information available, on what to look out for, how to interact if you ever think that you might be falling victim to a scam, and also knowing what resources are available. Awareness truly is the greatest source of prevention.”
Many of the questions from the audience dominated by senior citizens revolved around a criminal practice called spear phishing which involves faked messages from a known or trusted sender, urging targeted individuals to reveal confidential information.
The audience also shared broad phishing, or mass phishing experiences, with tales of random, high-volume cyberattacks, spreading fraudulent messages across the region simultaneously.
Sgt. Beaton said victims are comprised mainly of romantically, or financially vulnerable people, perhaps isolated or bereaved, regardless of age, sex, or background.
“It’s been difficult,” said Mrs. Smith. “I don’t know whether we’re going to have to sell the house or not. I hope not.
“For us, it started with the Mark Carney advertisement on TV,” she said. “He (Mr. Smith) put $350 in it.” Mr. Smith interjected: “The ad said it was okay.”
Mrs. Smith said the couple survives on “just our pensions,” and now also counts on “family support, relying on God and praying all the time.
“They stole our pensions in January and we had to live off of our RRSP,” she added. “They got into our credit line. They got into our Canada Revenue Agency account, and his identity has been stolen. They got into our Visa and everything.”
She said the police told them that there’s only a 50-50 chance of the Smiths getting any money returned.
“It’s been difficult because we had to take almost $9,000 out of the LIF (Life Income Fund) and the RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund) that we have just to get by,” she said. “I know that a lot of it he did behind my back. With his brain injury, he’s got Alzheimer, and dementia coming on, he just thought it was for-real. When it finally stopped, we’re coping one day at a time.”
According to the CAFC, artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling the more than 75 percent of losses attributed to cyber-fraud, including social media scams, fake websites, phishing, voice modification and deepfakes.
Investment fraud is the highest loss category, with over $351 million in reported losses in 2025. Spear phishing losses reached $67.3 million and romance scams $58.4 million.
A recent Angus Reid Institute study report states: “The prevalence of phishing and fraud attempts is astounding, with more than four-in-five Canadians saying they have been the subject of an attempt over the past two years.”
The Angus Reid Institute study adds: “Those 60 years of age and older are almost twice as likely as 18- to 29-year-olds to have been a victim.
“Some of this may be attributable to unfamiliarity with emerging AI strategies for fraud, which have become sophisticated at modeling authentic communications from recognizable sources.”
St. Thomas Police Service issued a fraud alert on March 20.
“In an ongoing effort to help protect the residents of St. Thomas from falling victim to online scams and fraud, STPS would like to remind the community on ways to protect yourself and things to consider while online,” according to the alert.
“Always get a second opinion from family or friends regarding the situation; No employer will reach out to you through apps like What’s App or Telegram; No employer will ever pay you in crypto currrency; No employer will ask you to invest your own money; and use the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre as a resource.”
By Joe Konecny, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Mar 25, 2026 at 07:31
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