Single woman shares ‘Calgary Romeo’ online dating warning: ‘Love bombing is a real thing’
Global News
'When it comes to online dating, I just want to remind people to really do their due diligence. Love bombing is a real thing. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.'
Blaire Wortley just wanted to make a connection. Instead, she found herself uncovering a online dating scam involving a man police say swindled more than $25,000 from dozens of victims.
Calgary police said the man, 36-year-old Bryan Christopher Syryda, was reported to CPS back in 2020 after several people at that time alleged to have given him money in return for discounted tech items such as televisions.
The victims were told by Syryda he worked for well-known tech companies and had access to electronics at discounted and group rates. At that time, several charges were laid by police.
As investigators delved into the allegations, they became aware of several local Calgary women who met the Syryda by online dating apps such as Bumble, Tinder and Plenty of Fish.
Wortley said she was one of the alleged romance scam victims. She said she moved to Calgary back 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 messaging quickly led to a phone call.
“We had an amazing conversation, seemed to have a lot of the same interests. That went on for a couple hours even, and we had planned a date,” she said.
In a news release, police said the man treated the women to “extravagant outings” and would offer the same bogus tech deals to the women along with their friends.