Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - With Valentine's Day just a couple days away, local federal agencies are warning people of the newest relationship investment schemes that are on the rise across the country.
United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, Michael DiGiacomo says there has been an uptick in romance investment fraud schemes, which is a new twist by scammers trying to deceive people they may establish a relationship with.
"In the past, in romance schemes, they would generally just say, 'Hey, I've had an unforeseen circumstance,' after they built this long period of trust. 'Can you send me some money?' Because [they] was either in a car accident, have these medical bills that [they] can't pay. What's changed now, or what I would call is a wrinkle or a new play in the playbook, is now based on when they build this trust, they now want to share with the victim, the unknown victim, an opportunity to invest, because they care for them so much they want to see their money grow," DiGiacomo explained with WBEN.
What scammers ultimately do is after this trust is built for a period of time, they direct their victim to a fraudulent investment platform or crypto platform, and they encourage them to make a small investment.
"What happens after that is to build the trust further, they might, on certain circumstances, show fraudulent statements to make it appear as though the individual's money has grown at rates that are just unheard of. And some - not all, but some - will take even the next step and say, 'Just to show you this is legitimate, you can take a small withdrawal," DiGiacomo explained. "And they'll send them some money back, and that just builds further trust for people to invest more money over time. That's the difference that we have seen."
DiGiacomo says the original romance scheme still exists, but the difference now is this way, the scammer gets a greater chance to have a victim give larger sums of money when they're selling it as, "This is a great investment for you."
"They still target professionals, seniors, now they target some younger folks because they're more open to online dating and cryptocurrency," DiGiacomo added. "And they still look for their victims on dating apps, social media platforms, different messaging platforms, and they still use the same methods to build trust - frequent messaging, calls, sometimes gifts."
According to DiGiacomo, this scheme has already happened frequently, and it's been happening nationwide.
"What you have to understand is these are generally run by criminal organizations, and these criminal organizations don't just target, per se, Buffalo. They target nationwide," he said. "We've had some cases here where there's been victims here, but the investigation has realized there's victims all over the country. So I can't give you a hard number to say there was X amount in 2025 or 2024, because oftentimes we'll have victims here, but victims throughout the country."
DiGiacomo points to a number of different ways for people to avoid becoming potential victims of these fraudulent online schemes.
"First off, you want to limit your exposure to engaging in any conversation of which any person is asking for your personal information or for a money exchange. You also want to limit what you put out on social media. You should also be careful of what you share on social media," DiGiacomo said.
"Make sure all your passwords and that are secure, you want to make sure you do that. Don't engage in random group chats, things of that nature. And obviously, it's not cliche, but trust your gut. If it doesn't look right or smell right, trust your instincts."
DiGiacomo also advises anyone who may invest in an investment that was given to them by someone online, they do their due diligence to make sure that what is being suggested is a legitimate investment.
If someone believes they are a target of one of these online schemes, DiGiacomo says there are a couple different avenues to contact local law enforcement.
"The two agencies that fully investigate these cases here in the Western District is the FBI - they should call their local FBI office, and they will direct them and take the information - or HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] here in Buffalo also investigates these," he noted. "You may have heard the term for these type of investments is called 'pig butchering'. It's not an attractive term, but that's what it is. And both of those agencies aggressively investigate those cases, and they would be the agencies that a victim would contact."
According to the FBI, in 2024, approximately 59,000 people fell victim to romance-related scams, losing over $672 million. The FBI says that many times, once a victim realizes they have been exploited, they feel embarrassed or ashamed, and do not want to let anyone know what happened to them, including law enforcement.
However, the FBI encourages anyone who has been victimized by this fraud or unsuccessfully targeted to file a complaint.