New York warns seniors about scammers demanding gold bars

Victims in four jurisdictions reported similar gold-buying schemes

New York officials’ warning centers on what happens after a victim is convinced that a bank account or computer has been compromised. The victim is directed to someone posing as law enforcement and told to withdraw money, purchase gold bars or coins, and turn the gold over to authorities.

Scammers then tell victims not to discuss the supposed breach with anyone and send couriers to collect the gold. James said the scheme has primarily targeted seniors and that scammers have made off with more than $100 million over the past two years.

“Targeting older adults with seemingly legitimate claims that their life savings are in immediate danger is flat-out cruel,” James said. “Seniors deserve to live comfortably without fear of losing their hard-earned savings to a manipulative scam. I am urging all New Yorkers to beware of these gold bar scams and report suspicious messages related to this scam to my office.”

The scheme starts with a fake pop-up message stating that a computer or financial account has been compromised. The message provides a phone number. When victims call, scammers persuade them to provide remote access to their computers, allowing the scammers to access financial information or online bank accounts.

Victims in Hawaii, Maine, Washington DC and Wisconsin have reported the same thing happening to them.

In one July case, scammers contacted an 85-year-old man in Washington DC by email and phone while claiming to be U.S. federal agents. When the man tried to purchase $200,000 in gold, the seller recognized the scam and alerted law enforcement. Investigators arrested suspects when they arrived at the man’s home to collect the gold, ABC-7 News in DC reported.

The attorney general advised people not to call a number provided in a pop-up, text or email. People should not give remote access to their computers to anyone they do not know or provide money from a bank account at someone’s urging over the phone.

Anyone who believes there is a problem with a bank account should contact the financial institution directly. People concerned that they may have been victims are urged to contact law enforcement.

The announcement said, “A scam is effective because the scammer creates a false sense of urgency, pressuring the victim into life-altering decisions on the spot and swearing them to secrecy.” It said the best response is to hang up, contact someone the victim trusts and explain the situation.