As cybercriminals increasingly target North Bay residents with investment scams, impersonation schemes and AI-powered deception, a little-known state-funded task force operating locally has become an essential resource for dozens law enforcement agencies statewide.
The Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force, or NC3TF, assisted 44 local and state agencies in 2025. They examined 523 electronic devices and closed 276 digital forensic cases involving crimes ranging from homicide and child exploitation to firearms violations.
The task force serves seven counties: Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma. It is one of five regional high-tech crime units established under California’s High Technology Theft Apprehension and Prosecution program.
“(I)t assists agencies from other counties based on need and availability,” said Geoff Iida, chief deputy district attorney for Marin County and NC3TF program administrator.
Network of cyber investigators
The unit operates from a 5,882-square-foot leased facility in south Napa, though Marin County serves as its fiduciary agency.
“As far as the selection of the location for the NC3TF headquarters, my understanding is that that decision was made many years ago and that the location was chosen by state officials, not Marin County officials,” Iida said.
Created in 2000, the task force is one of five state-funded regional teams established under California law. Counterparts are based in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Clara counties.
NC3TF was designed to address the growing threat of computer crime and identity theft by bringing together specialized investigators from multiple jurisdictions. Participating agencies include the Marin County District Attorney’s Office, Fairfield Police Department, Vacaville Police Department, Napa County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Secret Service and other state and federal partners.
Far more than hacking
The unit’s mission has expanded well beyond traditional notions of computer hacking.
According to California’s Department of Justice, these task forces investigate internet fraud, identity theft, cryptocurrency-related money laundering, cyberstalking, extortion, intellectual property theft and unauthorized intrusions into public and private networks. They also provide sophisticated digital forensic support for violent crimes where electronic evidence plays a crucial role.
In 2025 alone, NC3TF’s forensic work supported investigations involving 25 homicides, nine attempted homicides, 11 violent sexual assaults, 21 firearms violations and 44 child sexual abuse material cases.
The task force itself remains relatively small. It consists of a supervisor, an administrative assistant who also serves as evidence custodian, one full-time investigator, two part-time investigators, one full-time investigator and digital forensic examiner, one full-time digital forensic examiner who also serves as an electronic detection K-9 handler and one part-time digital forensic examiner.
All members work from the Napa headquarters.
Recent successes
The task force has recently participated in several high-profile investigations.
One was Operation Broken Heart, conducted by the Marin County District Attorney’s Office in February 2025. The operation targeted online child exploitation and resulted in charges against four men. One defendant, Owen Dombrowski, pleaded guilty on May 27 and is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 12 in Marin County Superior Court.
NC3TF also assisted in the investigation of Santa Rosa resident Luis Gustavo Arroyo-Lopez, who was sentenced in 2024 to 26 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing and decapitating his grandmother, according to The Press Democrat.
While those investigations illustrate the breadth of the task force’s digital forensic work, the greatest financial threat facing North Bay residents comes from online fraud schemes that often come from elsewhere.
“These schemes originate and are orchestrated outside of California and more often than not, outside the United States, which is outside the jurisdiction and resources of the NC3TF,” Iida said.
North Bay toll from cybercrime
The scale of the problem continues to grow.
According to data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, total cybercrime losses reported by residents of Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties surged from $20.9 million in 2021 to more than $70.5 million in 2025, an increase of 237%.
The number of victims rose from 1,065 to 1,542 during that period, a 45% increase.
Investment fraud accounted for the largest share of losses and experienced the most dramatic growth. Financial losses ballooned from $1.6 million in 2021 to $45.7 million in 2025, an increase of roughly 2,682%.
Tech-support scams also remained a significant threat. While losses declined from a peak of nearly $31.6 million in 2024, victims still lost $12.5 million in 2025, nearly four times the amount reported in 2021.
Government impersonation scams have become increasingly costly as well. Losses climbed from $286,059 in 2021 to $5.7 million in 2025, while the number of victims more than doubled.
Not every category has trended upward. Real estate fraud losses fell sharply, dropping from $4.2 million in 2021 to approximately $239,000 in 2025.
Coordinated statewide response
California officials say collaboration has become essential because cybercriminals often operate across multiple jurisdictions and international borders.
The California Department of Justice’s Cybercrime Section provides investigative and prosecutorial support to all five regional task forces while also assisting rural counties that lack their own technology crime units.
The California Cybersecurity Integration Center, known as Cal-CSIC, coordinates information sharing and threat intelligence among local, state and federal agencies.
Specialized training for a changing battlefield
NC3TF investigators also rely heavily on specialized training. According to Iida, all investigators and digital forensic examiners are sworn California peace officers who volunteer for the assignment and demonstrate aptitude in computer crimes investigations and digital forensics.
They receive training through the California Department of Justice Advanced Training Center and the National Computer Forensics Institute in Hoover, Alabama.
New generation of threats
Emerging technologies — particularly, artificial intelligence — are creating new challenges.
“The challenges regarding AI for NC3TF are deep fakes with investigations involving identity theft and child sexual-abuse material,” Iida said.
Deep fakes are images or videos made via AI software that puts the victims’ face and other characteristics on existing media or custom scenes. Often the victims’ social media posts or candid snapshots of the minors are used to generate the fakes.
Experts warn that artificial intelligence could make scams more convincing by enabling criminals to create realistic fake voices, images and videos that are increasingly difficult to distinguish from authentic communications.
Increasingly critical line of defense
For consumers, that means heightened vigilance will become even more important as online fraud grows more sophisticated.
Iida recommended residents learn more about organized fraud operations through Operation Shamrock, an educational initiative founded by former prosecutor Erin West that focuses on disrupting international scam networks.
Mike Thomason of Keegan & Coppin Co. Inc. represented the Napa property owner, BBDM LLC, in the task force’s April deal to extend its lease there.
Jeff Quackenbush joined North Bay Business Journal in May 1999. Reach him at jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4256.
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