Crypto
Sask. retiree warns others after losing $3K to crypto fraud using AI video of prime minister | CBC News
Retired teacher Lynn Phaneuf says he and his wife generally only use the smart TV in the living room of their Prince Albert home to watch the news.
When Phaneuf, 70, saw what purported to be an interview between CBC host Rosemary Barton and Prime Minister Mark Carney talking about cryptocurrency investment opportunities backed by the federal government, he thought he was watching a legitimate segment on a CBC streaming platform.
“With all the stuff that has been going on with Mark Carney, trying to get housing going and this and that, I thought this could be just one of those initiatives that is good for Canadians,” Phaneuf said.
The segment did not air on CBC’s platform, and it was fake — a fraudulent video made using AI to impersonate Carney, Barton and CBC branding to direct people to an investment company that was flagged by the Manitoba Securities Commission in June 2025.
Phaneuf said he had doubts throughout the weeks-long interaction with scammers that ultimately cost him $2,800. But with around $800 in profits deposited to his Canadian bank account, a legitimate cryptocurrency site tangled up in the scheme, the professional nature of the so-called financial advisers and a confusing phone call from RBC, there was always just enough reassurance to keep going, he said.
“I always use the analogy of being lost in the bush. Once you’re lost, you stop believing the things that you should believe.”
The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan said it began tracking amounts reported lost to cryptocurrency scams in the province in 2024, and as of the beginning of November 2025, the total lost was $1.3 million.
For Canada, the reported amount lost totals more than $388 million between January 2024 and September 2025, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Both agencies say only an estimated five to 10 per cent of victims report the fraud.
Companies ‘very well aware’ of AI-generated ads
Mathieu Lavigne, the analytic lead at the Media Ecosystem Observatory — a Canadian-based research initiative that monitors and analyzes online harms — said deepfake, AI-generated videos like the one Phaneuf encountered are a known problem for social media companies.
But the companies are taking a primarily “reactive” approach, he said.
“They’ve basically just been removing individual pages and ads when they’ve been flagged.”
Regulations for ads on social media are much looser than regulations for traditional broadcasts, he said.
Companies like Meta, which owns Facebook, rely on ad buyers to self-declare deceptive AI use and no identity verification is needed before creating a page, even pages running financial ads, Lavigne said.
“Right now it is possible for any individual around the world to create a page and start buying ads right away that try to defraud Canadians.”
The problem is extensive, he said. His team identified over 200 pages on Meta platforms running ads like the one Phaneuf encountered. One video had been seen by more than 100,000 Canadians.
He said information from Meta’s ad library shows that more vulnerable Canadians like the elderly are often targeted.
The scam
The fake segment directed Phaneuf to a website called TW Pro, which he said later suddenly became PlusTW. The site displayed stock and trading information for recognizable companies like Apple and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dash. Phaneuf said he was able to verify that information against the stock exchange in real time.
With time on his hands during retirement, and an apparent endorsement from the prime minister, he thought investing might be interesting and fun.
“I was not trying to make big money out of it. I didn’t need the big money out of it. I just thought, ‘Oh, this is something to try,’” he said.
After he created an account, a series of self-described financial advisers began calling him from Canadian numbers. One gave the name of a real financial adviser based in Toronto, he said.
His first investment was $365, paid by credit card. After 10 minutes on the phone with someone, he’d earned a profit.
“The earnings were not great, but it was an earning every time,” he said.
Once he ensured he could withdraw his money, he decided to invest $3,000, an amount he could afford to lose. That was the limit he gave himself for the investment project.
Unclear call from RBC
The site asked him to send the money through crypto.com — a Singapore-based company registered to operate in Canada through the Canadian Securities Administrators — using an e-transfer. The move concerned his bank.
“RBC phoned me and said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’” Phaneuf said.
They told him cryptocurrencies often involve scams, but when he asked if RBC had problems with the specific company, crypto.com, the representative said no, Phaneuf said.
“He couldn’t give me an answer: is this OK or is this not OK?”
The call lasted five minutes.
In a statement to CBC, RBC said it would not comment specifically on Phaneuf’s case due to client privacy, but that the company was in contact with him directly about the situation.
“We recognize that we have an important role to play in helping to protect our clients from fraudsters and educating Canadians about staying vigilant in an ever-evolving threat landscape,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for crypto.com told CBC the company “is not affiliated” with either PlusTW or Pro TW “in any way.”
Pressure to invest
Phaneuf said the pressure to invest increased. When he resisted, the financial advisers became harder to get on the phone. He said he tried to withdraw money and “the phone went dead.” Requests to close his account were similarly ignored.
Normally, he’s able to spot scams and can avoid things like fake emails or phishing scams, he said.
“I was mad because I fell for this one hook, line and sinker.”
Phaneuf said he reported the loss to Prince Albert city police but got a call informing him that they would not pursue it, despite classifying it as theft. He was told there was no need to submit his witness statement, he said.
After CBC contacted Prince Albert police for comment, a spokesperson said they had determined Phaneuf’s case “requires additional attention” and reopened the file.
“After reviewing the file, we recognize that the initial assessment did not meet our expected standard of service,” Chief Patrick Nogier said.
“We need to be upfront,” Nogier said when asked about the police service’s ability to handle cybercrime.
“We do not have the capabilities and the expertise.”
Nogier said cases involving cybercrime are often beyond the capacity of mid-sized police forces like Prince Albert’s.
He called the initial assessment of Phaneuf’s case “concerning” given how often cybercrime goes unreported.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre outreach officer Jeff Horncastle said victims of fraud should file reports with both their local police and the anti-fraud centre, as it is a separate reporting process.
He said fraud is “very underreported” for multiple reasons, including victims being confused about where to go and having challenges reporting to police.
Learning about the scam
Phaneuf’s wife asked him to take a cybersecurity course at the University of Saskatchewan through its continued learning program in the fall.
While attending the virtual course, he heard a very familiar tale of fraudsters earning trust through phone calls over time, returning some money to victims in order to get them to invest more, and then disappearing with their money, he said.
“They could have just been pointing at me.”
While Phaneuf didn’t tell his teacher, Canada Research Chair in Security and Privacy Natalia Stakhanova, about his experience, Stakhanova said other seniors in her class have mentioned brushes with AI-powered scams.
“A lot of people don’t realize the extent of the AI these days and the capabilities are growing daily,” Stakhanova said.
“Criminals are getting, becoming more and more creative.”
Scams are now more sophisticated and more believable than “we are accustomed to seeing,” she said.
Experts say education is key to fighting new forms of fraud.
All individuals and companies dealing with financial securities are required to be registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators and can be looked up there.
Phaneuf’s advice is to keep your bank account information away from anyone asking for money on the internet.
“Don’t let any money out because there’s a good chance you’ll never see it again.”
Crypto
Institutional Crypto Adoption ‘Happening Now’: Ripple Executive Says Real-World Use Cases Taking Hold
Key Takeaways:
- Ripple says institutional adoption of digital assets is happening now.
- Craddock states the focus has shifted to infrastructure and real-world use cases.
- Paris events showed strong momentum, with Ripple citing real industry energy.
Institutional Digital Asset Adoption Gains Momentum
Institutional adoption of digital assets is gaining momentum across global finance, marking a decisive shift as major firms move beyond experimentation into active deployment. Ripple’s managing director for the U.K. and Europe, Cassie Craddock, reinforced this momentum on April 20, pointing to Paris Blockchain Week 2026 and related industry events as evidence that large-scale crypto adoption is already underway.
Craddock stated on social media platform X:
“Institutional adoption of digital assets isn’t something that’s on the horizon. It’s happening now.”
“The debate has moved on. The focus is on infrastructure and real-world use cases. And the people I was fortunate enough to spend time with this week are the ones building it. Banks, asset managers, fintechs, and regulators, all discussing how to do this properly and at scale,” she further shared.
The executive tied that view to meetings held across the Ripple Roadshow Paris, Paris Blockchain Week itself, Mastercard Crypto Day at the Eiffel Tower, and Société Générale-FORGE’s event at the French Ministry of Finance. She explained that discussions no longer centered on whether institutions would engage with the sector. Instead, participants examined infrastructure, deployment standards, and real-world use cases that could support broader activity across regulated financial markets.
Paris Events Highlight Structured Industry Buildout
The comments suggest that digital asset conversations among large organizations are becoming more operational. Craddock referenced exchanges with speakers including David Durouchoux, Myles Harrison, and Frédéric Dalibard, while also highlighting the presence of banks, asset managers, fintechs, and regulators. That mix suggests several parts of the financial system are considering similar questions around scale and execution. Rather than focusing on abstract potential, the gatherings in Paris appeared to center on how institutions can build and apply digital asset systems in a structured way.
The Ripple executive added that the people involved in those meetings are “the ones building it.” She also concluded:
“The energy was real, the momentum even more so.”
These remarks reflect Ripple’s view that institutional interest is moving from long-term expectation to active development. By stressing implementation and participation from established financial groups, the post framed Paris Blockchain Week as a signal that digital asset adoption is advancing within mainstream finance.
Crypto
Scattered Spider hacker pleads guilty to stealing $8 million in cryptocurrency – Help Net Security
A British national tied to the Scattered Spider cybercrime group pleaded guilty to hacking multiple companies via SMS phishing and stealing over $8 million in virtual currency from US victims.
Tyler Robert Buchanan, 24, of Dundee, Scotland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In November 2024, US authorities unsealed criminal charges against Buchanan and four other alleged members of the Scattered Spider group, accusing them of using phishing text messages to steal employee credentials, breach company systems and steal cryptocurrency.
According to court documents, Buchanan and his co-conspirators conducted cyber intrusions and virtual currency thefts between September 2021 and April 2023.
The victims included interactive entertainment, telecommunications and technology companies, as well as business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT service providers, cloud communications firms, virtual currency companies and individual victims.
“As part of the scheme, Buchanan and his co-conspirators conducted Short Message Service (SMS) phishing attacks by sending hundreds of SMS phishing messages to the mobile telephones of a victim company’s employees. The messages purported to be from the victim company or a contracted IT or BPO supplier for the victim company,” the Justice Department said.
“The SMS phishing messages contained links to phishing websites designed to look like legitimate websites of a victim company or a contracted IT or BPO supplier. The websites then lured the recipient into providing confidential information, including personal identifying information (PII), and account usernames and passwords.”
In April 2023, police found on a digital device at Buchanan’s residence in Scotland the names and addresses of numerous victims, including a text file containing cryptocurrency seed phrases and login credentials for one account.
Buchanan has been in federal custody since April 2025 and faces up to 22 years in federal prison.
Co-conspirator Noah Michael Urban is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence and was ordered to pay $13 million in restitution after pleading guilty in April 2025 to fraud-related charges. Three other defendants charged alongside Buchanan, including Ahmed Hossam Eldin Elbadawy, Evans Onyeaka Osiebo and Joel Martin Evans, still face criminal charges in the case.
Scattered Spider is a cybercrime collective, also known as UNC3944, Muddled Libra and Octo Tempest, made up largely of young, native English-speaking hackers who use social engineering, including impersonating IT and help-desk staff, to gain initial access, bypass MFA, and compromise enterprise networks.
The group gained notoriety for its role in high-profile hacking and extortion attacks against Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, two of the largest casino operators in the US.
Although authorities have increased pressure on the group and arrested several members, including four they consider responsible for ransomware attacks targeting UK-based retailers last year, the group continues to operate, with new members replacing those arrested.
Key Takeaways:
- Ripple outlines a phased roadmap to prepare XRPL for quantum-era cryptography risks.
- Industry momentum grows as XRPL testing highlights performance and security tradeoffs.
- Developers at Ripple will expand testing to balance innovation with network stability.
Ripple Maps Quantum Security Strategy
Ripple’s post-quantum strategy reflects a growing shift in blockchain security as quantum computing risks gain credibility. The company’s latest Insight, published April 20 by Senior Director of Engineering Ayo Akinyele, outlined a structured roadmap to prepare the XRP Ledger for future cryptographic disruption while preserving network performance.
The Insight stated:
“Ripple is introducing a multi-phase roadmap to prepare the XRP Ledger (XRPL) for a post-quantum future, with a target for full readiness by 2028.”
It also detailed collaboration efforts: “Ripple is working with Project Eleven to accelerate development, including validator testing and early custody prototypes.”
Akinyele explained that quantum security is becoming more relevant because blockchain networks rely on cryptographic systems that could eventually be broken by sufficiently advanced quantum computers. On XRPL, each signed transaction reveals a public key on-chain, which could weaken long-term wallet security in a post-quantum environment.
He also pointed to the “harvest now, decrypt later” threat, where attackers collect cryptographic data today and wait for future quantum capabilities to exploit it. While this does not indicate an immediate failure of current protections, it increases the urgency of preparing systems that secure long-duration value. These risks reinforce the need for early testing of quantum-resistant cryptographic systems and structured migration planning.
XRPL Testing Targets Long-Term Stability
Ripple’s roadmap consists of four phases, starting with contingency planning for a potential failure of existing cryptographic standards. This includes a “Quantum-Day” framework designed to enable secure migration to post-quantum accounts if vulnerabilities emerge. Additional phases focus on evaluating National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-recommended algorithms under real network conditions, measuring impacts on throughput, storage, and verification efficiency. XRPL’s native features, including key rotation and deterministic key generation, provide a technical advantage by enabling gradual migration without forcing users to abandon existing accounts. Parallel testing on development networks will allow developers to assess performance tradeoffs before broader implementation.
The senior director of engineering emphasized long-term execution and coordination, stating:
“We should not view addressing the quantum threat on XRPL as a single upgrade, but rather a multi-phased strategy of carefully migrating a live, global financial infrastructure without compromising the value of digital assets protected by the XRPL.”
Akinyele indicated that achieving post-quantum readiness requires balancing cryptographic innovation with operational stability, ensuring the network remains efficient while adapting to future security challenges.
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