The woman had learned about the 'investment' scheme from a friend, who was also defrauded.

A Parksville senior has lost an estimated $200,000 to an online cryptocurrency scam after being referred to it by a friend, who was also defrauded, Oceanside RCMP says.

The victim thought she was dealing with a legitimate financial-investment group, which used a proper trading platform through WhatsApp, police said.

Sgt. Shane Worth said she was promised "huge returns" and initially invested $2,500.

She was "thrilled" when she was told she had earned a return on her investment, and began to send more money in $10,000 increments that eventually added up to about $200,000, he said.

She was soon told the value of her portfolio had jumped to $35 million, he said, but when she tried to take out some of the money, she was refused.

"It was at this point the resident realized they were scammed," Worth said.

He said the case shows how people can fall prey to a scam. Online investing can come with huge risks, and not all websites and investment opportunities are legitimate, he said.

"Despite this resident acting on an investment recommendation they received from a trusted friend, it turned out to be a fraud," Worth said. "If the returns are too good to be true, they probably are."

If you have any doubt, check with your bank or a financial advisor from a reputable institution, he said.

Worth said fraud cases come to the detachment's attention weekly, and seniors are often the targets, with people losing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.

"We're trying to get the word out," he said. "We do a lot of outreach with different seniors' groups."

While frauds like romance scams also come up, "more and more we're seeing the investment ones," Worth said.

For information on detecting and avoiding scams, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm.