Attorney General Letitia James highlights a rising scheme where scammers manipulate victims into buying gold under false pretenses, victimising over 139 Americans and escalating across multiple states.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has warned that scammers have used a gold bar fraud to steal more than $100m from victims over the past two years, with older adults among the main targets. The scheme begins with a fake warning on a computer or in a financial account, then escalates into calls from people posing as law enforcement or other officials who pressure victims into “protecting” their money by buying gold. According to James, the fraud relies on urgency, secrecy and fear to push victims into handing over their savings.
The office said the scammers first steer people to a telephone number in a pop-up message, then persuade them to allow remote access to their computers. Once inside, they can search for banking details and other financial information. Victims are then told their accounts have been compromised and that they must withdraw cash, buy gold bars or coins and give them to couriers sent to collect the metal. James urged New Yorkers not to call numbers that appear in pop-ups, texts or emails and not to grant remote access to strangers.
Officials said the tactic is not confined to New York. Similar cases have been reported in Hawaii, Maine, Washington, DC and Wisconsin, while authorities on Long Island have separately warned about scammers trying to persuade seniors to move their savings into gold for “safekeeping”. In one Washington case in July, ABC-7 News reported that an 85-year-old man was urged to buy $200,000 of gold after being contacted by people claiming to be federal agents. A dealer recognised the fraud and alerted police, who arrested suspects when they arrived to collect the bullion.
Federal and state authorities have been stepping up enforcement against related schemes. The US Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service said the Western District of New York’s “Save our Seniors” initiative has led to eight arrests linked to more than $11m in actual and attempted losses involving more than 139 victims, including one case in which a defendant was caught trying to collect $567,000 in gold bars. In a separate federal indictment in Kentucky, prosecutors said two people travelled nationwide to gather gold bars from retirement-age victims who had been tricked into believing the purchases would shield their assets from theft.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
