SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Investment fraud schemes skyrocketed in Silicon Valley last year, according to the FBI’s annual Internet Crime Report.

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released its annual report Thursday using aggregated data from 2023. FBI investigators said there were “alarming increases in both the frequency and financial impact of online fraud perpetrated by cybercriminals.”

Victims within the FBI San Francisco division’s territory lost nearly $400 million to investment scams. The county with the highest number of victims and losses was Santa Clara County, with 446 victims and $152 million in losses.

“An investment scam is a deceptive practice that induces investors to make purchases based on false information. These scams usually offer those targeted significant returns with minimal risk,” the FBI wrote.

Nationally, investment fraud losses rose to $4.57 billion in 2023. Within these numbers, crypto-investment fraud losses rose to $3.94 billion, an increase of 53% from the previous year.

The report shows that people between ages 30 to 49 years old were the most likely group to report losses from investment fraud.

Nationwide, the FBI received 880,418 total cyber crime complaints with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion. The highest reported losses from any crime were attributable to investment scams.

The most frequently reported crime was phishing schemes, which use unsolicited email, text messages, and telephone calls purportedly from a legitimate company to request personal, financial, or login credentials.

In the FBI San Francisco division’s territory, 364 complaints were filed with almost $1.5 million in losses. Santa Clara County filed the most complaints for this crime; however, Alameda
County suffered the highest dollar amount for phishing schemes, with nearly $500,000 in losses.

“IC3 is an important tool for the FBI to combat the rising tide of cyber threats,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp. “When the public reports incidents to the IC3, they provide valuable information that helps fill gaps crucial to advancing our investigations.”

If you or your business are a victim of an internet crime, immediately notify all financial institutions involved in the relevant transactions, submit a complaint to IC3.gov, contact your nearest FBI field office, and contact local law enforcement