Elderly fraud victims tell their story

After losing about $85,000 to identity theft in 2025, pensioners Joe and Sadie Smith, of St. Thomas, are nearly broke and struggling to keep their home.

“I am so embarrassed,” said Mr. Smith, his voice cracking with emotion as he described the dreadful experience at a fraud prevention session hosted by Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton. “I just fell apart.

“We’ve been married 52 years, and she got so upset she left for four days,” Mr. Smith said in an interview after the public meeting at CASO Station, on March 18. “It’s been a disaster and I’ve lost everything.”

Mr. Smith said his woes started soon after viewing a “deepfake” video purporting to portray Canada’s Prime Minister promoting a “guaranteed” cryptocurrency investment scheme. The faked video was often broadcast on YouTube and Facebook in 2025 and was referred to by several of the 60 participants at the public meeting.

The video was confirmed as a fabrication by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and the Ontario Provincial Police.

For the full story, see the March 25 edition of The Aylmer Express. (AE/Joe Konecny)