The Financial Crimes Task Force of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has issued an urgent warning about a cunning online scam group targeting elderly people, deceiving them into exchanging their entire life savings for physical gold bars and handing them over. In New York City alone, this scam group has already made off with up to $100 million, leaving hundreds of individuals victimized.
According to detectives from the task force, this specialized investigation began in mid-2024, with elderly victims across the country falling prey, ranging from ages 60 to 90.
Authorities point out that this meticulously designed scam typically starts with a sudden pop-up warning on the computer. The pop-up claims the user’s computer is infected and prompts them to call a fake “Microsoft customer service” number immediately.
During the phone call, scammers allege the need to “fix system vulnerabilities,” coaxing elderly individuals to grant them remote access to their computers. Once successful, scammers can manipulate the victim’s webcam, microphone, printer, and all personal accounts.
Subsequently, the scammers use the pretext of “protecting asset security” to gradually convince elderly individuals to liquidate all their bank deposits, stocks, and other assets to purchase physical gold bars.
Surveillance footage obtained by the police shows an elderly woman in Brooklyn handing a box of valuable gold bars to a fraudulent group member posing as a delivery person.
Authorities reveal that victims have lost hefty sums of gold, with losses easily reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Manhattan, a single elderly woman was scammed out of gold bars worth over $9 million.
Another victim lost her entire retirement savings; she was on the verge of retirement and now relies on financial assistance to get by.
These scammers are highly sophisticated. In one case in Manhattan, an elderly person grew suspicious at the start of the scam and attempted to refuse cooperation. However, the scam group used spoofing software to falsify a call from the official number of NYPD’s 13th Precinct, posing as detectives from the area to coerce her to “continue cooperating with the investigation” and ultimately surrender the gold bars.
While law enforcement has managed to recover some gold through investigations, the majority of victims can only recoup a small portion of their losses. To prevent falling victim, the simplest and most effective method is to immediately turn off the computer.
Authorities emphasize, “The sense of urgency created by these pop-ups is meant to make you call. Even if it seems like your computer is frozen, simply log out or power off, and scammers will be powerless over you.” Any organization that asks you to purchase gold bars and hand them to a “delivery person” or “security personnel” is 100% a scam.
If you or someone you know suspects falling victim to such scams, please call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-8477, or submit tips on the website crimestoppers.nypdonline.org.