Scott Bennett was watching Instagram stories back on June 3 when he noticed something off about a friend’s business page.
While browsing, he saw that the Bar Sazerac account posted what looked like a fabricated and off-brand screenshot about 10 minutes earlier. It showed a picture of a digital wallet used for cryptocurrency.
“It appeared to be a cryptocurrency wallet with their bar’s name in it, saying how thankful they were to some unknown Instagram account about their record profits,” Bennett said.
After working in the information technology (IT) and cybersecurity field for more than a decade, Bennett knew something was fishy.
Crypto crime is on the rise in Canada and the U.S. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says it received reports of cryptocurrency fraud losses in 2021 amounting to $75 million. A recent report released by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission shows that since the beginning of 2021, more than 46,000 people have reported losing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency to scams.
Locally, the Haldimand Crime Unit is currently investigating a case involving a person living in Hagersville, Ont. who was defrauded of $400,000 after investing in an online cryptocurrency scam.
Cryptocurrency is a largely unregulated digital currency market dealing in direct transactions of value and certain features…