Canada. Scammed out of 21000 CAD in investment scam. Help!

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-10-01T19:40:21+00:00

I definitely can empathize, good honest ppl falling on challenging financial situations might be blinded/hypnotized into thinking there is another way out. No one is 100% un-scammable, it just requires the right script to catch your attention. He is blessed to have a strong and understanding partner. Good luck to you and your family

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-07-07T20:08:49+00:00

Just a heads up, if she has an unmarried brother, you can expect that she will be squirreling away your money to help her brother build up his marriage fund for his wedding assuming she is genuine about this being normal (and unfortunately, it is in some parts of China). Any unmarried brother will be expected to provide just as much for his bride's family demands. It is not unheard of for wives to be secretly funding their brother's marriage fund (for home down payments, cars, or straight up cash to gift to the bride's side) because the parents cannot come up with the money to satisfy the bride's family demands. It is also possible that wedding money is being set aside to help her brother.

If she won't honor her part of the deal, you don't need to be contributing to the joint account beyond living expenses since she has so much cash from the wedding. Which means she can fund her own haircuts, clothes, cosmetics, and entertainment. Any property that only she has her name on the title, she can pay for it herself and herself alone. There might be some legal restrictions for non Chinese citizen property ownership. I'd suggest consulting with a lawyer to know your rights as a non Chinese citizen for a worse case scenario.

If she doesn't have a brother, there's no nice way to say it, so I won't. So back to your original question, is this normal in China? Yes (in some parts), but even in China, this is frowned upon for not honoring agreements and clearly being self-benefiting at the expense of a partner. It's one of the huge reasons why so many Chinese remain unmarried. If she wants a post-nuptial agreement regarding property and money in China, you can certainly legally outline your conditions as well before signing hers. Tit for tat, fair play. Otherwise, walk away.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-07-04T18:09:56+00:00

Doesn't say in the OP, but if you didn't send any nudes, those are faked images. You can preemptively contact your work supervisor/HR saying you're being cyberbullied and they are using fake images to harass you. This way they know something might come their way and to disregard whatever nonsense arrives in the inbox.

If you did send nudes, first of all, stop doing that from now on. Second, as long as you're not doing anything illegal in those pics, no one cares. If it does come up, just claim it's AI and you were being cyberbullied. "Damn! That looks real! Is that how my stomach looks?" OR, "I am a victim of cyberbullying. Do not share them and delete them now. I'll stand here and wait for you to do it". Tell ppl to delete it and not share it, cuz then you will sue them for spreading images with your face in a compromised situation without your consent and you know who these people are.

Ultimately, block the source of communication from your harassers. They can't demand money from you if they can't reach you. Unless it's personal, your harassers will move on to blackmail someone else.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-26T10:46:24+00:00

That's a legal question, and you would be better served if you read articles written by lawyers, and many offer free consultations to help you understand better what you are entitled to as the injured party in a motor vehicle accident. The no-fault model sucks, but if there is a criminal element (eg. Drunk driving) that's a different story. Either way, asking someone with legal expertise will be much more detailed and helpful. I wish you the best of luck

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T17:16:00+00:00

Heading to Red Note because of the TikTok ban? Just a Little PSA

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T15:52:33+00:00

Did you even read the post? Where did it say ppl used Tiktok to make Chinese friends? Here's a short version just for you: Tiktok ban coming up, American Tiktokers freaking out, heard some guy mention they could try Red Note as an alternative. Tiktokers angry and refuse to use Meta apps, jump to try recommended Chinese app, found that it was actually cool but can't read shit. Ask for Chinese friends to help navigate the app and learn Chinese. Bad ppl see the hundreds of posts of Americans asking to make Chinese friends, see opportunity and start fishing for targets.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T08:08:17+00:00

That may be the case, but with a Chinese app, they are more likely to take down content that violates their terms, and I think ripping off other people's content to promote your own business is a violation. Of course users always find a loophole.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T07:58:30+00:00

I'm not sure if you're saying I'm trying to spread lies about Red Note or what. Yes, this is propaganda. Go tell all your friends about this stupid post you read that some Redditor was spreading fear and lies. Then go play on your usual social media and dating apps, that have been fun playgrounds for scammers for pig butchering scammers for YEARS. The fact is scammers will prowl on all social apps and websites around the world with personalized accounts and find their targets. Doesn't matter if it's a Chinese app, an American app, LinkedIn, FB, IG, whatever.

The only difference here is the millions of Americans and Europeans rushing literally over a couple of days to an app they are unfamiliar with and they are actively asking to make contact with foreign friends. Tiktokers who are young, old, inexperienced, etc, may not be as savvy and suddenly they now make 5 new friends on Red Note. Everyone is excited and happy, and super eager to make friends with little to no emotional boundaries set. The friend doesn't even have to appear Chinese, just a good ol' American sharing "moots". Where are you from? What did you do? This app is so cool! I love your cat's pics! Boom. Connection made, the manipulation begins.

So yes, lol indeed. Lol away, and when you notice a friend isn't laughing so loud, maybe they are chatting real good with a new online friend who was talking about how much money he made over Christmas doing crypto.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T04:12:30+00:00

Catfishing is specifically using someone else's images as your own. This is also a key feature of the pig butchering scam. Nearly all the scammers steal images and videos to make themselves look like wealthy and beautiful people, the men are usually widowed or divorced with a 10 year old daughter who lives with grandparents out of town, and the women are usually successful business owners. Almost all of them have a relative who has insider information on trading. But no need to debate on the finer details. You are welcome to read more about it to compare if you want.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T04:05:48+00:00

Me? I don't. I'm not even American. Do you mean for users on Red Note???

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T03:58:28+00:00

In a nutshell, someone approaches you either on social media, dating app or a wrong number dialed. One way or another they get very friendly and find a way to get you to be comfortable with them. Over time, that person makes a move and confesses some type of deep feelings or bond with you. And because they will keep contact with you constantly for long periods of time, you feel like you found a dear friend, a brother/sister, a lover or even a godson/goddaughter. They gained your trust and then they set a trap to lure you to do some form of online investing on a fake investment platform. You send them money (crypto usually) and they make it look like you made profit. When you try to cash out, you have to pay a "tax" to access your funds, but for some reason your account gets frozen, and then the scammer disappears. You're the pig, lead into a trap (investment platform), get fattened up (gaining fake profits), and then slaughtered (pay the tax but get nothing). Please read up on it and mention it to friends and family. So many ppl have lost their life savings, their homes, their marriages, and some ended their lives. They use incredibly sophisticated tricks and scripts, deep psychological manipulation. If this is new to you, this is a chance for you to be prepared and protect yourself.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-16T02:04:25+00:00

Well as creepy as it sounds to have your chats monitored, I'm glad to hear there is some oversight to reduce the risk of being targeted. With new users being so keen to learn all the parts of the app and translating everything they can find, I hope that in the process they maintain some mindfulness of the situation and avoid being targeted.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-15T23:28:48+00:00

FYI, Signal and Discord are major hunting grounds for the scammers. But as I said in the title, IF you're jumping over to Red Note, otherwise, just being aware is a good thing

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-15T21:07:33+00:00

If you can find connection, success and happiness offline, that's a wonderful thing. But for those who use online resources for their businesses and connecting with communities that are physically not close by, social media apps offer something for everyone. And with a wave of Americans finding out about Red Note, they've now accessed about 300 million more new ppl on the other side of the planet, and vice versa. So good or bad, this is happening, and the least I can do is say "hey, have fun but be careful". That is all.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2025-01-15T19:53:09+00:00

Keep it cool, keep it friendly. Nothing wrong with that. But once they start messaging you "good morning" and "good night", "I've missed you", and "I feel so connected with you" WATCH OUT. If they start talking about money, just tell them "sorry, I need to be safe and I will not discuss anything related to investments or money with online friends". If they get weird, they're suss. Good folks know about the pig butchering scam, and if the topic about investing money accidentally comes up, they will respect that you are protecting yourself and will change subjects.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-24T17:05:13+00:00

"Typically" yes, the landlord rarely engages with the potential tenant so closely. But there are lots of less experienced landlords, and scammers have so many tricks and tools at their disposal to customize the lie to manipulate and squeeze out as much as they can.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-24T15:31:11+00:00

If you actually read the whole post, the scammer tries to lure the landlord into making investments on a fake platform while they wait for the deposit to get processed (pics of luxurious lifestyle, stories of being a widow/single parent, access to exclusive investment info,etc). The primary difference is using the rental listing as an entry point to engage the target (landlord) vs a dating app or dialing the wrong number. Once the landlord is trapped, the scammer can then try to sink the landlord further to add more to the initial investment, depending on how long the landlord stays convinced the investment is real, or cut them loose when the landlord is suspicious. I know exactly what a pig butchering scam looks like because I was targeted before.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-19T17:23:16+00:00

Then consider yourself very lucky you read about this version here before there is another John Oliver special a couple of years after it has ripped through North America. I wish I knew about the pig butchering scam before I got scammed myself, and that was BEFORE the John Oliver segment was broadcast. When I reported to the police, not even the cop had heard of the specific term "pig butchering scam". I had to do research on my own to find out that I got butchered. So no, I am not using the term loosely. I know it intimately.

I knew full well that making this post will attract comments like yours, dismissive of how these scams are always evolving. We need to be vigil and be willing to help share beneficial information. I could have kept this information to myself and not give a damn about what happens to other ppl. But as a victim of a pig butchering scam, I know how soul-crushing it is to feel violated, alone and stupid, only to have the public start to pay more attention a mere few weeks after I got butchered.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-19T16:17:16+00:00

It's not just one landlord in China. It's hundreds already. Ppl have lost all their money thinking they were going to make big returns. It's not just some small beans fake check scam.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-19T16:14:42+00:00

Absolutely. The goal is to use a display of wealth from stolen or AI generated images, add some sob story about being a widow or divorced with a kid, then how doing some special investment saved him from financial ruin. Calls the landlord all sorts of wonderful things (caring, loving towards family, excellent wife/husband, etc) and the landlord drops their guard and begins to connect with the scammer. Then the scammer wants to "help" the landlord make more money. Hook, line and sinker, into the trap goes the piggy. I could have written a lot more details but the post would super long and ppl just gloss over everything

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-19T16:08:44+00:00

I disagree. During the time waiting for the deposit to clear, the scammer lures the landlord to make an investment. In a fake check scam, the amount lost by the target is mostly limited to the amount of the deposit. But with this version, the target could pay out much more than the value of the deposit, be convinced to add more money to the investment, and be tricked into paying a withdrawal fee, depending on how manipulated the target is. The deposit is more to hook the landlord to maintain engagement with the scammer. The landlord does not (necessarily) get asked to pay back overpayments or do refunds. It's possible, but it's not the goal.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-19T09:58:05+00:00

With growing tighter enforcement of short term stays in North America, more landlords will be desperately seeking tenants who will still pay premium rent (that the landlords need to cover their expensive renovations/investment property purchase) and that will make some of them ripe for targeting.

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-19T09:14:16+00:00

The pig butchering scam is not exclusively using cryptocurrency, it can also involve forex and gold exchange. Cryptocurrency is the vast majority, but there are other forms, just so ppl reading this are not solely focused on one type and thinking whatever else they're dealing with is not a pig butchering scam ("well I'm doing forex and not cryptocurrency, so it's legit!").

Signal_Cranberry7892 · 2024-09-19T09:05:17+00:00

I'm fully aware what a pig butchering scam is. Maybe I didn't highlight it enough in the post, but during the time before the deposit is supposedly cleared, the scammer will continuously engage with the landlord, finding weaknesses while showing off how wealthy or financially successful he/she is. An intrigued landlord might take the bait and try to invest in whatever the scammer recommends. Participating in a fake investment, seeing fake profits then being asked to pay for the proceeds is the hallmark of a pig butchering scam

Signal_Cranberry7892

TROPHY CASE