A resident of Roseville lost more than $1 million in an online romance scam that began on a dating site in March 2025, after a woman moved the relationship to private messages and claimed she needed money to access a supposed inheritance of 455 kilograms of gold. The victim sent funds for months to cover alleged taxes, storage, and legal fees before realizing the story was false, and police are now warning the community about this common scam tactic.
According to the Roseville Police Department on their Facebook page, the gold-inheritance story tied to a romance scam was completely fabricated, and officials urged anyone who sent money in similar situations to contact the Federal Trade Commission and file a local police report in Roseville, while reminding the public of common red flags like being pushed to move conversations off dating apps, sudden requests for large sums of money, and pressure to send funds quickly.
How the scheme unfolded
The scheme is laid out in the Roseville Police Department Crime Log. The victim met the suspect on a dating site in March 2025, then shifted to iMessage. There, the suspect claimed a family member had died and left roughly 455 kilograms of gold. The catch, she said, was that more than $1 million was needed to cover storage and tax costs before the gold could be released.
According to the log, an individual later appeared, claiming to be an attorney and demanding $700,000 in legal fees. As if that were not enough, the victim was then told about a medical emergency involving the suspect’s daughter, which prompted still more transfers. By July 2025, the Roseville resident realized the entire situation was a scam and filed a report with the FBI.
Red flags experts point to
The Federal Trade Commission guidance on romance scams lists patterns that line up closely with what happened in Roseville. Common signs include being urged to move chats off the dating platform, repeated excuses to delay or avoid in-person meetings, urgent pleas for money and strict directions on how to pay. The agency advises people to keep screenshots, receipts and payment records and to report suspected romance scams.
How to report and protect yourself
If you suspect you or someone you care about is being targeted, officials say to cut off contact immediately, save all messages and transaction records, and reach out to your bank or payment service as soon as possible to try to stop or reverse transfers. Victims can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3 and report losses to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. In Roseville, residents can also submit a local police report through the department’s online tools, which are listed on the Roseville Police Department contact page.
Authorities emphasize that reporting early can sometimes help limit the damage and give investigators a better shot at tracking larger fraud operations, even though recovering money is often difficult once it is routed overseas or converted to cryptocurrency. National coverage and federal field offices note that romance and confidence scams continue to produce large, often regional, losses and urge people to stay skeptical of high-drama money requests tied to online relationships, as highlighted by Newsweek.
