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Judy Skene Judy Skene who lost $900,000 in a fake crypto platform scam speaks to CTV News <\/p>\nThe fraud involves criminals making ‘deepfake’ videos that appear to be investment endorsements by celebrities and politicians. Pat Foran reports. <\/p>\n
An Ontario woman is sharing her story after she invested over $900,000 in a cryptocurrency platform that turned out to be fake.<\/p>\n
It was in the summer of 2025 when 86-year-old Judy Skene of Sault St. Marie, Ont., came across a deepfake video of Prime Minister Mark Carney promoting a crypto investment platform.<\/p>\n
Judy Skene Judy Skene who lost $900,000 in a fake crypto platform scam speaks to CTV News <\/p>\n
At the time, Skene clicked the link, signed up, and made an initial investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw an ad on Facebook of Mark Carney telling me if I invested $350 Canadian, it would be backed by the Bank of Canada,\u201d Skene said.<\/p>\n
Following the initial investment, she received a phone call from someone claiming it had already tripled in value. Over the next few months, she invested everything she had, even taking out a mortgage on her condo.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I agreed to put a mortgage of $300,000 on my condominium,\u201d Skene told CTV News.<\/p>\n
In a fake investment account it appeared her money had almost doubled, but in reality, she was defrauded of $900,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce I did the final payment, there was no more conversation and all my money was gone,\u201d said Skene.<\/p>\n
When Pat Probert learned of what happened to Skene, he stepped in to help his friend while she was in a very distraught situation. It came to a point where Skene felt like taking her own life.<\/p>\n
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Pat Probert, of Toronto, Pat Probert speaks to CTV News about his friend Judy Skene who lost $900,000 in a fake crypto platform scam. <\/p>\n
\u201cHer condo fees were bouncing, the insurance payments on her condo and her car were bouncing,\u201d Probert said. <\/p>\n
He told CTV News he also wants to warn others about investment fraud.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know a senior that\u2019s alone, reach out to them make sure someone is on a bank account as their emergency contact,\u201d Probert said.<\/p>\n
Investment frauds have been around for a long time, but with artificial intelligence getting better, it\u2019s hard to tell which videos are real and which ones are fake. <\/p>\n
The \u2018deepfake\u2019 videos that appear on social media are usually showing endorsements by celebrities and politicians, including Carney and former prime minister Justin Trudeau.<\/p>\n
Social media companies should be held accountable: expert<\/p>\n
\u201cThese scams are on every different type of platform,\u201d said AI expert and media consultant Mohit Rajhans of Think Start Inc.<\/p>\n
He said he feels companies allowing the posting of deepfake and scam videos should be held accountable.<\/p>\n
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Mohit Rajhans AI expert and media consultant Mohit Rajhans of Think Start Inc. speaks to CTV News. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s remember they are making money off of these scams. These ads are running on social media platforms; this is a revenue stream for these apps,\u201d said Rajhans.<\/p>\n
As for Skene, she told CTV News that clicking on that one ad changed her life forever, and she wants to prevent others from falling victim to this type of fraud. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust be alert and be careful with what you see on Facebook,\u201d Skene said.<\/p>\n
As for Probert, he told CTV News he\u2019s happy Skene is still here and hopes that by her sharing her story, it will help save another person or senior from a scam. <\/p>\n
Probert has also created a GoFundMe page in hopes of helping Skene stay afloat for the next few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudy wanted to leave money to different charities, as she has no kids or relatives and was an only child,\u201d said Probert. <\/p>\n
\u201cJudy was not doing this for greed; she was doing it to help others now she is the one needing help.\u201d<\/p>\n