A man from Guelph lost nearly $100,000 in an online Bitcoin scam.
The man reported the incident to the police station on Wednesday, according to officials. After posting in an online forum in September, the victim stated an unknown person contacted him, indicating he wanted to learn more about Bitcoin investing.
By the end of October, the individual informed police he'd moved around $50,000. According to him, the investment is now worth more than $210,000. When he went to withdraw the funds, he was told he needed to send $21,000 to "pay a profit tax", and after he sent that, an additional $21,000 was requested for "insurance", at which time he became suspicious and contacted police.
"Cryptocurrency transactions are not reversible and very difficult to trace," the news release said. "The Guelph Police Service encourages residents to be vigilant when investing in crypto, performing extensive research before transferring any funds and not accepting investment advice from someone you haven't met."