'Decimated': Windsor man says he lost $75,000 in online trading scam

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“Decimated” is how a Windsor man describes his life after he said he was manipulated by scammers.

Domenico Squillaro is sharing his story in hopes of preventing others from losing their dignity as well.

"I have to watch the gas in my car. I have to watch what's in my fridge," said Squillaro.

Embarrassed and ashamed, Squillaro said he is a victim of a scam that has now left him $75,000 in debt.

"Does it look like I have the word sucker on my forehead?” Squillaro said.

He told CTV News that in May, he received a phone call from a so-called investment firm called Onspotcap.com.

"He said ‘Are you interested in making money?’ I said ‘Yes.’ He said ‘I work for onspotcap.com and we have excellent financial advisors that can meet your needs and get you moving’," he said.

A few days later, he received a call from a man who identified himself as David Lewis Hill.

After several over-the-phone conversation with Lewis, Squillaro agreed to invest. But he said he wanted to do his research first.

He said he found this website on google, which identified Hill as a financial professional with 28 years of experience.

Hill also provided a photo of his passport to assure Squillaro he was legitimate.

"He said, ‘First off, let's download an app called Anydesk, and it will give me access to your trading account, but we need some seed money’," said Squillaro.

He followed through and over time, he claimed his initial investment of $1,300 grew to $10,000 in less than a month.

Hill then suggested a larger investment.

"I said, ‘Hey, I earned $10,000 already, put that in my bank account first, and then we will take it from there’,” said Squillaro.

However, after several months, he still hadn't seen the cash. But then he noticed another problem.

"My line of credit was decimated. They've used every penny of my line of credit. My CIBC Visa was now $15,000 in debt. Everything was swallowed up,” said Squillaro.

Squillaro said CIBC should have done more to protect him.

"CIBC said they have voice prints that I called them and guess what, I didn't call them. I'm assuming there's some type of artificial intelligence where they can now duplicate your voice," said Squillaro.

CIBC said in a statement to CTV News, “Protecting clients from fraud is a clear priority for our team and we have sophisticated layers of security and monitoring that work effectively to help prevent unauthorized transactions. Our voice authentication system detects and guards against impersonation and there is no evidence of compromise in this case.”

The statement continues, “Clients have a role to play in recognizing fraud and protecting themselves against it, including keeping personal or banking information safe and secure, and not sharing it with anyone. More information about how to spot and stay safe from scams is available on our website and the Canadian Bankers Association site.”

Squillaro said he confronted Hill, "No response. Gone. Disappeared. Onspotcap.com is gone too.”

Windsor police confirmed Squillaro filed a report and that an investigator has been assigned to the case. As of now, the investigation is ongoing.

"What I'm dealing with is hell," said Squillaro.

On Spot Bank is listed on an investment caution list issued by the Alberta's Securities Commission.

Squillaro is warning the public, even if you think you can't be manipulated, it can happen.

"Your life might self-destruct before you know it," he said.

CTV Windsor has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact On Spot and the man calling himself David Lewis Hill.