An Edmonton man says he was on the verge of retirement when he invested in a cryptocurrency-based scam. He is now out hundreds of thousands of dollars. The man asked for help, and after more than two years of searching, he found an Edmonton-based non-profit organization.
It all started when Cody Lauzon posted on Facebook that he couldn’t afford to miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Someone kept calling me about this amazing investment opportunity. It was out of this world,” Lauzon said.
It started with a small cryptocurrency investment of $1,000. Mr. Lauzon saw his stocks growing and was told that he needed to invest more to get his money.
“All of a sudden, he said, ‘Send us $100,000 as soon as possible, and you’ll automatically get a 150 percent bonus.’ And it was $200,000 Canadian, so $200,000. I put in $800,000 and immediately had $800,000,” Lauzon said.
Mr. Lauzon transferred $500,000 via wire transfer to accounts in Switzerland and other European countries. He said that when he asked to withdraw money from his cryptocurrency account, his counterparty hesitated and told him to wait.
“I ended up cashing out all the RRSPs I’d been saving all this time,” he said.
Immediately after that, those who had been in contact with him fell silent.
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“I thought something was wrong because I saw him putting money in another wallet instead of mine. That’s when I knew right then and there that the whole thing was a complete scam.” said Lauzon.
“He changed his phone number and email address and was taking a long time to contact me. All of a sudden, out of the blue, I couldn’t contact him.”
Lauzon has been without $500,000 since 2021 and has been seeking help ever since, recently discovering Fraud Hunters Canada.
“I searched and searched and no one seemed to want to help. (This organization) was a godsend,” Lauzon said.
The Edmonton-based nonprofit was founded after founder Jason Schetter lost $86,000 to fraud and said he couldn’t find help.
“After going to law enforcement, I quickly realized there was very little assistance available,” Tschetter said.
“Victims need to be heard, especially when it comes to cybercrime like sextortion, extortion, cryptocurrency fraud, and phishing. We just don’t have the resources.”
According to the Canadian Fraud Hunters website, its private investigators are professionally trained by CDI University and affiliated with law enforcement agencies. Investigators use programs such as Mastercard Ciphertrace to track fraud cases and money trails. The group also acts as a post-fraud advocacy group and connects clients with mental health resources.
The first step is to connect victims and investigators.
“They took us in, tracked us, trained us, and taught us everything we needed to know to help victims of cybercrime related to crypto fraud. By working with them, “We can first create a profile of the case, and then we can supplement that by providing admissible evidence that other law enforcement officers may not have access to,” Tschetter said.
After an investigation, the organization helps cybercrime victims prepare a report that they can file with the police. From there, victims can work with local law enforcement to get their money back and, in some cases, help track down the culprit.
“There is hope. Many people think that stolen cryptocurrencies cannot be returned, but that is the biggest mistake. You can do it. We are making progress now and are the first in Canada to do this.” That’s going to happen,” Tschetter said.
Lauzon said she has always been grateful for the organization’s work, as she may see money deposited into her account in the near future.
“Bless you in disguise. I don’t know what to say. Thank God, thank God for finding them.”
Canadian Fraud Hunters has investigators located across the country.
As part of its advice to victims, the group recommends reporting scams to local police and law enforcement first. Canadian Fraud Prevention Center.
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