The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States has issued a warning concerning the surge in romance scams in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a new twist involving cryptocurrencies.
Just prior to Valentine’s Day, the FBI San Francisco field office has raised awareness among the public regarding the uptick in romance scams based on reports received at the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). These scams entail the creation of fake profiles to deceive unsuspecting victims – both men and women – into transferring funds under the guise of developing a romantic relationship. According to information released by the FBI:
“Victims in the FBI San Francisco division’s jurisdiction lost over $64 million to romance scams, a significant increase from just over $35 million in 2020.”
In the year 2021 alone, the investigative and security agency documented 742 complaints within the Northern District of California, surpassing the 720 and 526 complaints lodged in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
In addition, the IC3 received more than 23,000 complaints related to confidence/romance scams in 2020, with reported losses exceeding $600 million. The FBI alert mentioned:
“FBI San Francisco has observed an emerging trend in which romance scammers are persuading individuals to send money for cryptocurrency investment or trading.”
A typical romance scam commences by gaining the trust of victims who are then directed to fraudulent platforms promoting investment opportunities. While scammers may let investors withdraw some profits initially to establish credibility, victims are then pressured to invest more money or cryptocurrencies:
“When victims attempt to withdraw funds again, scammers present various reasons why it is not possible. Victims are told that additional taxes or fees need to be paid, or that the minimum account balance requirements have not been met for withdrawal.”
Nevertheless, scammers typically cease communication once victims decline to inject further funds. The FBI advises victims of romance scams to report such activities and notify their financial institutions.
Some tips recommended by the FBI to steer clear of romance scams include refraining from taking investment advice solely from online sources, safeguarding financial information, avoiding promises of unrealistic profits, and being wary of individuals claiming to offer exclusive investment opportunities and insisting on quick decisions.
Related: Watch out for scams! Binance CEO cautions users about a widespread SMS phishing scam
Recently, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, warned the crypto community about a large-scale SMS phishing scam targeting Binance clients.
There is a massive Phishing scam via SMS with a link to cancel withdrawals. It leads to a phishing website to harvest your credential as in the screenshot below.
NEVER click on links from SMS!
Always go to https://t.co/9rMMAmtCxH via a bookmark or type it in.
Stay #SAFU pic.twitter.com/erNwe90FN1
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) February 4, 2022
As reported by Cointelegraph, the scam involves sending users a text message with a link purportedly to cancel withdrawals, redirecting users to a fake website intended to extract their login credentials. Zhao recommends manually entering the URL of the crypto exchange as a precaution against ongoing scams.
