Raising Awareness of Financial Scams Targeting API Communities

On March 31st, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a briefing in San Francisco to raise awareness of scams targeting API communities. Participants included San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu along with representatives of community organizations, victims of scams, and Bay Area API media. Speakers shared information about financial crimes targeting members of API communities including romance and travel scams, fraudulent equity and home improvement schemes, cryptocurrency fraud, and others.

Third-year UC Berkeley Law student Renee Coe, who will begin working with Bay Area Legal Aid this Fall, spoke at the briefing, sharing the story of an Indian student studying in the US who lost $18,000 to a scammer who claimed to represent ICE, and speaking about the broader impact of these scams and the current limits to enforcement and barriers to reporting and recovery that victims face. Renee’s work will focus on preventing scams and unfair business practices that target immigrant communities, and on getting relief to those who have already been targeted.

Media coverage of the briefing can be found at:

• “FTC Briefing Targets Scams Hitting API Communities in California,” Peter Schurmann, March 31 in Ethnic Media Services
• “In record year for scams, SF asks for public’s help,” Yujie Zhou, April 3 in Mission Local 
• “‘It’s Not Your Fault:’ SF City Attorney Urges Scam Victims to Come Forward,” Olivia Wynkoop, April 5 at NBC Bay Area