A Utah woman had already wired more than $100,000 and handed over more than $95,000 in gold when police say they interrupted a scam that was pushing her toward Las Vegas with her passport and bank cards.
The case began with a message on the woman’s phone claiming the device was infected and that her bank accounts were in danger, according to FOX 13 Utah. After she called the number in the message, police said the person on the other end convinced her to make multiple wire transfers totaling more than $100,000 between April 27 and May 6.
The scam later shifted from wire transfers to gold. Booking documents cited by FOX 13 said the woman was contacted by someone claiming to be an FBI agent who said he was trying to recover her money, then allegedly told her to withdraw funds, buy gold, and hand it to a courier.
Kanab City Police became involved after the woman’s husband contacted officers on June 9, when she was preparing to travel to Las Vegas to meet the fake agent with her passport and banking cards.
The Fake Agent Told Her To Buy Gold
On May 20, the person posing as an FBI agent allegedly told the woman to withdraw money from her accounts and buy gold. Two weeks later, on June 2, she purchased more than $95,000 in gold from a store in St. George and gave it to a courier sent by the caller, according to booking documents cited by FOX 13.
The next instruction raised the danger further. The fake agent allegedly told the woman to meet him in Las Vegas and bring her passport and bank cards so he could “sign over” her money and gold back to her. Police said officers convinced her not to go, then began texting the fake agent while posing as the victim.
Police Set Up Another Pickup
While pretending to be the victim, officers said the caller again instructed her to empty her bank accounts and buy gold for safekeeping. Police responded by saying she had bought $72,000 in gold coins, then sent a photo of the gold and a receipt before arranging for a courier to come to the home.
On June 13, Satnam Singh, 26, arrived at the victim’s home and picked up a box he believed contained the gold coins, according to FOX 13. Police arrested him immediately.
Singh was booked into the Kane County Jail on suspicion of attempted theft, prohibited uses of an identification card, and pattern of unlawful activity. The charges remain allegations at this stage, and no conviction has been reported.
Police Said WhatsApp Messages Matched The Pickup
During the arrest, police said Singh dropped one of his phones. A detective picked it up and found WhatsApp messages between Singh and the fake agent showing details of the scheduled pickup, including the photos of the gold coins sent by police, FOX 13 reported.
Investigators also found a fake Arizona identification card with a false name, according to the report. During questioning, Singh allegedly said he had driven from California to Kanab at the fake agent’s instruction, and that he was given the job by two friends in California. FOX 13 reported that Singh told investigators the person giving the orders was in Türkiye.
Singh was being held without bail pending trial, according to FOX 13.
Federal Agencies Have Warned About Gold Courier Scams
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center warned that scammers have instructed victims, many of them older adults, to liquidate assets into cash or precious metals and then hand them to couriers. IC3 said those scams produced more than $55 million in reported losses from May to December 2023.
The Federal Trade Commission gives the warning even more directly: real government agents do not ask people to buy gold bars, deliver gold to couriers, or move money to “protect” it.
A real FBI agent will not tell someone to drain bank accounts, buy gold, hand it to a courier, or travel to another city with a passport and bank cards to recover stolen money.
Anyone who receives that kind of instruction should stop communicating with the caller, contact local police, call the bank directly using a verified number, and report the scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov or the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.