A 93-year-old Florida man wrote a $600,000 check to buy gold after scammers convinced him that the money in his bank account was at risk.
The Martin County man was told that his account had been compromised and that he needed to move his life savings into gold to protect it, according to Local 10.
He contacted a legitimate gold company and paid $600,000 for the precious metal. The plan, investigators said, was for the gold to be delivered to his home, where someone connected to the scam would pick it up.
The gold never reached the scammers. The man became suspicious, went to his bank and ultimately got law enforcement involved. A Martin County sheriff’s deputy contacted the gold dealer, and a few weeks later the full $600,000 was back in the man’s account.
Scammers Told Him His Bank Account Had Been Compromised
Local 10 reported that scammers claimed to be with the Federal Trade Commission and told the 93-year-old that his account had been compromised. Their proposed solution was for him to withdraw the money and convert $600,000 into gold to secure his funds.
The amount represented the man’s life savings. Deputy Jasmaine McKinney, who responded to the case, emphasized that the victim was not a millionaire with money to spare and that money was essentially everything he had accumulated.
He contacted a legitimate business and wrote the company a $600,000 check for gold. The plan was for the gold to be delivered to his home, where the scammers would then pick it up, according to Local 10.
He Became Suspicious Before the Gold Was Delivered
Before the planned pickup could happen, the 93-year-old began questioning what he had been told. He went to his bank, where the situation was recognized as potential fraud and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office was contacted. McKinney, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for about four years, responded.
McKinney contacted the gold dealer directly and explained that its 93-year-old customer had made the $600,000 purchase because he was being scammed. She worked with the company to have the transaction reversed and the man’s money refunded. But a few weeks later, the entire $600,000 had been returned to the victim’s bank account.
The Sheriff’s Office was also involved in stopping another elderly man from losing $98,000 in a separate gold-bar scam, Local 10 reported. Deputies were already responding to another call at a local bank when they intervened before that money was lost.
No Government Agency Will Tell You to Buy Gold to Protect Your Money
The Federal Trade Commission says a real government employee will not tell someone to buy gold bars and give them to a courier, transfer money to a supposedly secure account or withdraw cash so someone else can safeguard it. Instructions to move money in order to “protect” it are a major warning sign.
Anyone receiving such a call should stop communicating with the caller. Do not rely on caller ID, which can be manipulated to display the name or number of a real government agency. Instead, independently find the agency’s official contact information and verify the claim directly.
If a transaction has already started, acting quickly can matter. Contact the bank, financial institution or business involved and explain that the transaction resulted from suspected fraud, then contact law enforcement.
Government impersonation scams can also be reported through the FTC’s ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Anyone who gave a scammer sensitive identifying information can use IdentityTheft.gov for steps to protect accounts and respond to possible identity theft.