FBI: Bay Area romance scams are on the rise

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KION-TV)-- The San Francisco FBI field office is warning the public of the recent rise in Bay Area romance scams ahead of Valentine's Day.

In 2021 an estimated $64 million was lost to romance scams in comparison to just over $35 million in 2020.

There were 72 complaints of romance scams within the Northern District of California in 2021 compared to 720 in 2020 and 526 in 2019.

Romance scams were reported in every county within the San Francisco FBI division's territory.

The counties with the highest dollar amounts stolen were Santa Clara, then San Francisco and in third was Alameda.

The age range of the victims was primarily 60 years or older, with 193 victims reported totaling $18 million in losses.

Romance scammers have recently been persuading people to send money to invest or trade cryptocurrency.

After allowing the victim to receive an initial gain on their investment after directing them to a fraudulent website or application, they then convince them to invest more and eventually don't allow them to cash out and cut off communication.

Tips to protect yourself:

• Never send monet, trad or invest per advice of someone you met online.
• Do not disclose your current financial status to unknown individuals
• Do not provide banking information, social security numbers, coipies of your identification or passport, or any other sensitive informarmation to anyone online on an unknown site
• Be cautious of people who claim to have exclusive investment oppurtunities and urge you to act fast.

If you believe you have been a victim of a romance scam report activity to the IC3 at www.ic3.gov and immediately contact your financial institution.