“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” … Or My Bank: Predatory Romance Scams
Overview
Of frauds that were reported in 2024, over $58 million was swindled from Canadians as a result of romance fraud, ranking third based on dollars lost in Canada, only behind investment and spear phishing. Meanwhile, those over 50 years old were more likely to lose more money per instance of fraud, romance fraud, again, placing in the top three.[1] In 2023, the United States Federal Trade Commission reported over $1 billion lost to romance scams[2] – an issue that CBS News went as far as to describe as a “National Epidemic”.[3]
What is romance fraud you ask? According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, romance scams typically target victims by developing an online relationship, working to gain their trust, while eventually creating a crisis scenario or investment opportunity in order to make a request of money.[4]
Seniors in particular have been the target of romance scams for various reasons; whether it be to take advantage of older individuals searching for companionship later in life or to exploit those with accumulated wealth and life savings.
While the statistics are telling, it is easy to get lost in the numbers and forget that these are real people with real stories. The following are just a handful of recently reported romance scams:
- A Toronto man lost $80,000 after meeting someone online and going through a troubling divorce.[5]
- A 63-year old Calgary women reported losing $380,000 after falling in love with a man online.[6]
- A 77- year old Newfoundland woman loses $20,000 after meeting someone online and trying to find companionship after her husband passed away.[7]
- A 75-year old Calgary women lost $800,000 after meeting a man on a dating site.[8]
However, it is important to be aware that romance scams do not only take place online. Vulnerable people can be, and often are, taken advantage of by those that have inserted themselves into their everyday lives. Take the case of The Estate of William Robert Waters v. Gillian Henry et al.,[9] (CanLII) [Waters v Henry]. In 2009, 80 year old William Waters and his wife Phyllis hired 40- year old Gillian Henry as an overnight personal support worker for Phyllis.[10] Shortly after, William and Gillian entered into an intimate relationship with one another and over the course of 10 years more than $30 million was advanced to Gillian.[11] For a more in-depth discussion on this decision see WEL Partners previous blog post: HERE
In Waters v Henry, the Estate of William Waters alleged that William was the victim of a predatory romance at the hands of Gillian[12] , and outside optics of the preliminary facts would tend to suggest to such a conclusion. Ultimately, the court held that a majority of the $30 million dollars advanced to Gillian were outright gifts.[13] However, in his blog “Saga of the Relationship Between William and Gillian” Albert Oosterhoff took the view that Gillian could be described as a “predatory participant” by her accepting such large sums of money for her various uses. Indeed, particularly considering she was hired to provide care to a vulnerable person, and of some of the money she received was found to be Phyllis’ money.[14]
Protecting and Educating Loved-Ones
When it comes to online scams, it is easy to suggest that individuals should be more apprehensive about those they meet online and conduct reverse online searches to determine if they are being catfished.[15] However, such suggestions do not heed well amongst a rising elderly and vulnerable population that are not as tech-savvy. Further, A-I generated images have taken the internet by storm, often making it difficult to discern fiction from reality, so much so that a woman in France was frauded out of over €350,000 after believing she was in a romantic relationship with Brad Pitt.[16]
While there may not be a definitive solution, perhaps banks ought to do more and put in place more effective fraud protection measures moving forward. Notwithstanding that, it is important to keep your loved ones informed about the new and evolving tactics used by fraudsters executing romance scams. A non-conclusive list of ‘red flags’ can be found at our recent blog post on this topic.
You may also consider contacting the Seniors Safety Line at 1-866-299-1011, your local police station, or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 if you or someone you know may have fallen victim to an online romance scam.
—
[1] Government of Canada, “Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s Annual Reports – 2024” (October 24, 2025), online: <https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/69c68f22-8a2a-43d1-8f4e-4017e3ffebba/resource/1ffc4a5e-e41b-48c7-929e-633d023ef8dc>.
[2] Federal Trade Commission, “ “Love Stinks” – when a scammer is involved”, (February 13, 2024), online: <https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/02/love-stinks-when-scammer-involved#:~:text=But%20reported%20losses%20to%20romance,financial%20consequences%20can%20be%20devastating>.
[3] CBS News, “In one women’s mysterious drowning, signs of a national romance scam epidemic”, (April 21, 2024), online: <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/romance-scam-epidemic-one-womans-mysterious-drowning/>.
[4] Royal Canadian Mounted Police, “Just the facts: romance scams”, (May 25, 2022), online: <https://rcmp.ca/en/gazette/just-facts-romance-scams>.
[5] CTV News, “Toronto man loses $80,000 to romance scam as advocates call for more fraud protection”, (October 10, 2025), online: <https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/consumer-alert/article/toronto-man-loses-80000-to-romance-scam-as-advocates-call-for-more-fraud-protection/>.
[6] CBC News, “Romance scam costs Calgary women over $300K in increasingly common form of fraud”, online: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/romance-scam-calgary-woman-1.7600484>.
[7] CTV News, “Two Ontario sisters fly to Newfoundland after mother loses $20K to romance scam”, (October 11, 2024), online: <https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/two-ontario-sisters-fly-to-newfoundland-after-mother-loses-20k-to-romance-scam/>.
[8] Global News, “Calgary woman loses $800K in romance scam: “I have nothing left”, online: <https://globalnews.ca/news/11217545/alberta-romance-scam-td-bank/>.
[9] 2024 ONSC 4190.
[10] ibid at para 45.
[11] ibid at para 72.
[12] ibid at para 76.
[13] ibid at para 360.
[14] ibid at para 393.
[15] Note 4 & Scotiabank, “Romance scams and how to avoid them”, (January 31, 2025), online:<https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/advice-plus/features/posts.romance-scams.html>
[16] Global News, “Brad Pitt ‘romance scam’: Five people arrested for online theft of $480K”, (September 25, 2024), online: <https://globalnews.ca/news/10774366/brad-pitt-scam-theft-spain-five-arrested/>.
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Written by: Jessica Homer
Posted on: February 13, 2026
Categories: Commentary, WEL Newsletter
Overview
Of frauds that were reported in 2024, over $58 million was swindled from Canadians as a result of romance fraud, ranking third based on dollars lost in Canada, only behind investment and spear phishing. Meanwhile, those over 50 years old were more likely to lose more money per instance of fraud, romance fraud, again, placing in the top three.[1] In 2023, the United States Federal Trade Commission reported over $1 billion lost to romance scams[2] – an issue that CBS News went as far as to describe as a “National Epidemic”.[3]
What is romance fraud you ask? According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, romance scams typically target victims by developing an online relationship, working to gain their trust, while eventually creating a crisis scenario or investment opportunity in order to make a request of money.[4]
Seniors in particular have been the target of romance scams for various reasons; whether it be to take advantage of older individuals searching for companionship later in life or to exploit those with accumulated wealth and life savings.
While the statistics are telling, it is easy to get lost in the numbers and forget that these are real people with real stories. The following are just a handful of recently reported romance scams:
However, it is important to be aware that romance scams do not only take place online. Vulnerable people can be, and often are, taken advantage of by those that have inserted themselves into their everyday lives. Take the case of The Estate of William Robert Waters v. Gillian Henry et al.,[9] (CanLII) [Waters v Henry]. In 2009, 80 year old William Waters and his wife Phyllis hired 40- year old Gillian Henry as an overnight personal support worker for Phyllis.[10] Shortly after, William and Gillian entered into an intimate relationship with one another and over the course of 10 years more than $30 million was advanced to Gillian.[11] For a more in-depth discussion on this decision see WEL Partners previous blog post: HERE
In Waters v Henry, the Estate of William Waters alleged that William was the victim of a predatory romance at the hands of Gillian[12] , and outside optics of the preliminary facts would tend to suggest to such a conclusion. Ultimately, the court held that a majority of the $30 million dollars advanced to Gillian were outright gifts.[13] However, in his blog “Saga of the Relationship Between William and Gillian” Albert Oosterhoff took the view that Gillian could be described as a “predatory participant” by her accepting such large sums of money for her various uses. Indeed, particularly considering she was hired to provide care to a vulnerable person, and of some of the money she received was found to be Phyllis’ money.[14]
Protecting and Educating Loved-Ones
When it comes to online scams, it is easy to suggest that individuals should be more apprehensive about those they meet online and conduct reverse online searches to determine if they are being catfished.[15] However, such suggestions do not heed well amongst a rising elderly and vulnerable population that are not as tech-savvy. Further, A-I generated images have taken the internet by storm, often making it difficult to discern fiction from reality, so much so that a woman in France was frauded out of over €350,000 after believing she was in a romantic relationship with Brad Pitt.[16]
While there may not be a definitive solution, perhaps banks ought to do more and put in place more effective fraud protection measures moving forward. Notwithstanding that, it is important to keep your loved ones informed about the new and evolving tactics used by fraudsters executing romance scams. A non-conclusive list of ‘red flags’ can be found at our recent blog post on this topic.
You may also consider contacting the Seniors Safety Line at 1-866-299-1011, your local police station, or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 if you or someone you know may have fallen victim to an online romance scam.
—
[1] Government of Canada, “Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s Annual Reports – 2024” (October 24, 2025), online: <https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/69c68f22-8a2a-43d1-8f4e-4017e3ffebba/resource/1ffc4a5e-e41b-48c7-929e-633d023ef8dc>.
[2] Federal Trade Commission, “ “Love Stinks” – when a scammer is involved”, (February 13, 2024), online: <https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/02/love-stinks-when-scammer-involved#:~:text=But%20reported%20losses%20to%20romance,financial%20consequences%20can%20be%20devastating>.
[3] CBS News, “In one women’s mysterious drowning, signs of a national romance scam epidemic”, (April 21, 2024), online: <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/romance-scam-epidemic-one-womans-mysterious-drowning/>.
[4] Royal Canadian Mounted Police, “Just the facts: romance scams”, (May 25, 2022), online: <https://rcmp.ca/en/gazette/just-facts-romance-scams>.
[5] CTV News, “Toronto man loses $80,000 to romance scam as advocates call for more fraud protection”, (October 10, 2025), online: <https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/consumer-alert/article/toronto-man-loses-80000-to-romance-scam-as-advocates-call-for-more-fraud-protection/>.
[6] CBC News, “Romance scam costs Calgary women over $300K in increasingly common form of fraud”, online: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/romance-scam-calgary-woman-1.7600484>.
[7] CTV News, “Two Ontario sisters fly to Newfoundland after mother loses $20K to romance scam”, (October 11, 2024), online: <https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/two-ontario-sisters-fly-to-newfoundland-after-mother-loses-20k-to-romance-scam/>.
[8] Global News, “Calgary woman loses $800K in romance scam: “I have nothing left”, online: <https://globalnews.ca/news/11217545/alberta-romance-scam-td-bank/>.
[9] 2024 ONSC 4190.
[10] ibid at para 45.
[11] ibid at para 72.
[12] ibid at para 76.
[13] ibid at para 360.
[14] ibid at para 393.
[15] Note 4 & Scotiabank, “Romance scams and how to avoid them”, (January 31, 2025), online:<https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/advice-plus/features/posts.romance-scams.html>
[16] Global News, “Brad Pitt ‘romance scam’: Five people arrested for online theft of $480K”, (September 25, 2024), online: <https://globalnews.ca/news/10774366/brad-pitt-scam-theft-spain-five-arrested/>.
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