El Paso FBI office warns of ‘sugar daddy’ scam targeting young women

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso office of the FBI has a warning for young women it says may be targeted by scammers.

The bureau says it's seeing an increase in what it's calling 'sugar daddy scams'. It involves men reaching out to women, usually through social media, claiming they will pay them for companionship.

Special Agent Andres Hernandez says these men will pay double up front, then ask for part of the payment back. But the payment is often fraudulent, meaning victims can sometimes lose thousands of dollars.

"A rule of thumb, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is," the agent said. "If someone promises to pay you for services, whether its companionship or a dance or whatever and they start asking for money back, don't send them any money back."

Hernandez says there were 26 reports of this kind of scam in El Paso in 2020 alone, leading to about $66,000 in losses.