Police are appealing for people to come forward after an investigation linked a Toronto man to the alleged theft of around $30,000 from five victims.
Toronto police said they “fully expect” there to be more victims.
A man targeted victims using online dating platforms like Grindr and social media chat group, police alleged.
The man would meet his victims in person and eventually make his way to their homes, police said. Police said he would ask to borrow their phones and then send himself electric money transfers.
Investigators also said the man allegedly used his victim’s credit cards to make purchases.
“The man would ask to use the victims’ cellular device to make an alleged phone call, but would use the opportunity to send electronic money transfers from the victims’ phones to himself,” police said at the beginning of March.
Police alleged stolen information was used to make “multiple retail purchases at several different locations” and “a lot” of transactions via Uber.
The alleged thefts took place between Nov. 19, 2021 and Feb. 23, 2022. At a press conference, Toronto police Detective Jason Contant said he believed there were more victims and that the thefts began “way before” November, 2021.
Contant said a theme was the “level of manipulation’ victims were subject to. He alleged some of the victims targeted had learning and physical disabilities.
“In all cases, the victims were simply looking for some companionship and instead they were deceived for financial gain,” he said.
Curran Stikuts, the director of community relations at The 519, a Church and Wellesley non-profit in Toronto, said the impact could be “quite devastating” for victims.
He said the experience could “tear people’s sense of safety and feeling of self-control and self-worth.”
Contant said the same email address was used for several of the transfers, helping police to find a link.
“The ease in which this actually happened, it actually shocked myself,” he said.
Jackson Luu, a 20-year-old Toronto resident, was arrested.
He faces several charges, including attempted theft, theft under $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime not exceeding $5,000 and unauthorized use of credit card data.
He was scheduled to appear at court on March 2, 2022.
— With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues
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