• As Valentine’s approaches, the FBI has warned the public against falling for crypto romance scams in which swindlers pose as romantic conquests on online platforms.
• These swindlers then lure their victims to invest in crypto through fraudulent platforms and when they fleece them, they cut off all contact.

Valentine’s Day is almost here and as romantic partners all around the world prepare to spend time together, scammers are gearing to fleece unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money under the guise of crypto investing. The FBI has issued a warning against these scammers, revealing that 2021 recorded the highest number of victims from crypto romance scams ever.

The FBI San Francisco office published its warning yesterday, February 11, warning of a rise in romance scams in the Bay Area, which it believes will shoot up around Valentine’s day.

Last year, residents of the Bay Area filed several complaints with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), with the total damage from these scams standing at $64 million. This was almost twice as much as the 2020 figure which stood at $35 million.

“IC3 received 742 complaints within the Northern District of California last year compared to 720 in 2020 and 526 in 2019,” the warning revealed.

Romance scams target all age groups, the FBI noted, but older males make up the biggest proportion of the victims.

“Last year, the age group with the highest victim reports within our region was 60 years and older, with a victim count of 193 and a dollar amount loss of over $18 million,” it revealed.

FBI: Don’t be the victim this Valentine’s

Romance scams are nothing new. However, they are evolving as scammers chase the latest trends to fleece their victims. The hottest trend right now is crypto, and thousands of people globally are losing hundreds of millions as they chase crypto riches.

According to the FBI, this new trend sees the scammer posing as a romantic conquest on online platforms, be it dating sites like Tinder or social media platforms like Facebook. They then direct the victim to invest in crypto, touting the great opportunities in the space.

Initially, they let the victim reap the profits, but only as a way to lure them to invest even more money. Once they invest more, the scammer disappears with the money.

FBI stated:

Ultimately, victims cannot withdraw any money, and the scammers most often stop communicating with the victim after they cease to send additional funds.

To stay safe from these scams, the FBI advises the public to never send money or make trades recommended by someone you only know online and to never disclose your finances to online ‘conquests.’ You must also stay away from investment opportunities that seem too good to be true, because they almost always are.

Related: Crypto investors lose over $70M in dating sites scam, and Binance is again involved