Blaire Wortley just wanted to make a connection. Instead, he found himself exposing an online dating scam involving a man who police say defrauded dozens of victims out of more than $25,000.
Calgary police said the man, 36-year-old Bryan Christopher Syryda, was reported to CPS in 2020 after multiple people at the time claimed they gave him money in exchange for discounted technology products such as televisions.
The victims were told by Syryda that he worked for well-known technology companies and that he had access to electronics at discounted and bulk prices. During that time, many charges were laid by the police.
As investigators looked into the allegations, they learned of several local Calgary women who met Syryda through online dating apps like Bumble, Tinder and Plenty of Fish.
Wortley said she was one of the alleged victims of a romance scam. He said he moved to Calgary in the fall and was looking to meet new people.
It was the height of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and meeting new people in person was a challenge, so she started swiping on Tinder. Direct messages quickly led to a phone call.
“We had a great conversation, we seemed to have a lot of the same interests. This went on for a few more hours and we had scheduled an appointment,” he said.
In a news release, police said the man took the women on “outrageous outings” and would make the same fake tech deals to the women along with their friends.
Police said they believe the money Syryda used to “woo the women” on dates was obtained through previous scams and then intended to trick the victims into trusting the man and giving him their money.
Wortley said Syryda bailed on their first date, citing a car accident. They rescheduled, she said, but when it came time to pay the bill at dinner, her date told her he forgot his wallet and promised to wire her money to cover part of the meal.
“The money never came and I kept asking him about it. He said his accounts were frozen because of some irregular activity on his bank account, and it went on from there,” Wortley said, adding that’s when he started making mistakes on social media and went blank.
“My friends and I started digging and we really didn’t find much on him, which was really hard to swallow because you’re like, ‘What’s going on here?’
“And then we finally found some information on Facebook. It was just one post that put me in touch with other victims,” she said.
Wortley said she wasn’t nearly as affected as other alleged victims, but she was worried another woman might be scammed by the silver-tongued man.
He started a Facebook page called Have you dated Bryan Syryda? to share information. In doing research, Wortley said she learned the scammer seemed to be targeting single moms.
“I met a lot of other single mothers that he tried to or successfully scammed out of, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars. So I decided to post a Facebook page under an anonymous name to get the word out there.
“You know, with online dating, all of us Google people: we look them up on Facebook, Instagram, all of that. So I wanted to have something there so that if other women met him and he was wooing them with all his stories and promises that they could find this page and see that none of it was true.”
Wortley said she went to the police and learned an active investigation was already underway. He is now speaking on behalf of all the people who have been victims.
“It’s not just women. You know, there were men too, good friends of his family who have all been cheated by this guy. And I know it’s, you know, kind of this joke because of ‘Tinder Swindler’ — the documentary that came out — but that’s legit. And this happened to people in the area here and there are many victims, unfortunately.”
Wortley said at the time she launched her Facebook page, she had heard from 25 different women who all claim to have interacted with Syryda between June and September 2021 and allege he used similar sexual tactics.
“When it comes to online dating, I just want to remind people to really do their due diligence.
“Love bombing it’s a real thing. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. And trust your instincts. Always trust your gut.”
Calgary police said the victims were located in Cochrane and Calgary, as well as the cities of Langley, Surrey and Delta in British Columbia.
Syrida is charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000, with additional charges pending. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 29, 2022.
The charges against Syridas have not yet been tried in court.
Anyone who believes they have been a victim of fraud is asked to call police at 403-266-1234.
— With files by Jessika Guse and Adam Toy, Global News
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