Thirty-one Marin County residents lost a total of $33 million to online investment fraud last year, according to a new FBI report on internet crimes.
This economic loss was greater than the $29 million lost to 156 San Francisco residents in 2023.
In the FBI’s San Francisco jurisdiction (which includes the Bay Area, North Coast, and most of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties), victims of online investment scams reported nearly $400 million in losses last year.
The agency said Santa Clara County suffered the most damage, with $152 million from 446 reported victims. Other total losses in the Bay Area last year included $57.5 million for 312 victims in Alameda County. $56.5 million from 221 victims in Contra Costa County. $51.7 million from 108 victims in San Mateo County. $3.2 million from 42 victims in Sonoma County.
Nationwide, victims of online investment fraud reported losses of $4.5 billion, an increase of 38% from the previous year.
This number is based on complaints filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Robert Tripp, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco office, said a typical scam involves getting criminals to pay money by promising innovative new products that will yield “amazing” profits. Ta. Tripp said the promise could be a mixture of fiction and a little bit of fact.
After the payment, the scammer either does not invest the victim’s money as promised, or only invests a small portion of the payment and pockets the rest of the money.
“This is not a traditional investment in a publicly traded company, where a company makes a prediction about earnings and maybe that prediction comes true,” Tripp said. “There is no good faith in the investment fraud scheme that concerns us.”
The FBI also reported that Americans lost $3.94 billion in crypto investment fraud cases last year. Tripp said criminals are taking advantage of investors’ ignorance.
“Everyone has heard the term ‘cryptocurrency,’ and it’s a buzzword that 90-year-olds feel comfortable throwing around,” he said. “But when you start getting into the nitty-gritty of a particular cryptocurrency, its backing in the blockchain, its expected rate of return in certain areas under certain conditions, no one knows that. It is nothing more than a black box that produces
Sam Bankman Freed, a well-known figure in the crypto world, was sentenced last month to 25 months in federal prison after being found guilty of fraud and conspiracy. Customers of his company FTX lost an estimated $8 billion.
The FBI also said Marin’s losses last year included $53,332 defrauded from “phishing” victims. The agency explains that phishing is a message sent by text, email, or phone call that tricks victims into divulging personal information, financial information, or login credentials.
Anyone who believes they are the victim of an online financial scheme should contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, Tripp said. The agency said it monitors the website 24 hours a day.
Tripp added that victims of fraud involving bank-to-bank wire transfers may be able to get their money back with the FBI’s help if they quickly file a report with the agency.
