by Natasha Lair
Last updated: 8:40 AM ET, Mon September 29, 2025
A family reunion turned into heartbreak for Scarborough retiree Oscar Teodoro, who says he lost thousands of dollars in an alleged travel scam targeting Filipino-Canadians across the country.
Teodoro told Metroland Media he believed he was purchasing a discounted ticket to the Philippines through a woman based in Calgary who was offering what appeared to be legitimate travel deals.
A relative had already booked cheap flights to Mexico through the woman, convincing him the offer was genuine.
But after paying through e-transfer, Teodoro said things quickly unravelled.
The woman only agreed to communicate via text message.
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Teodoro said she provided an initial booking document with an error, promised to fix it, and then demanded an additional $700 for a different flight. When the promised ticket never arrived, she stopped responding altogether.
“We called the airline and the agent told us there was no flight on that day,” Teodoro said. “This is when we saw the OMNI report,” referring to a Filipino-language news broadcast that linked the woman to a broader alleged discount travel scheme.
More Victims Speak Out
Other Filipino-Canadians shared similar stories.
More than 70 other alleged victims online, spanning Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, claim to have lost more than $365,000, according to Metroland Media.
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While details of this case remain under investigation, cybersecurity experts say scams of this nature are often complex. Scammers cancel bookings and funnel refunds into their own accounts.
Other schemes may involve purchasing stolen travel documents on the dark web, reselling them at a discount, and then disappearing once the scam is exposed.
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