Beware Of Gold Scams Targeting Our Seniors During Tough Times

History has shown us over the years that when economic times are A little OK sketchy, people have a tendency to turn to gold. Safety net and safe investment, and this is still true today. The problem is scammers know this is true as well and tend to target people who are older, vulnerable, and potentially more trusting so they can RIP them off. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘In July, the Oregon Department of Justice warned the state’s residents about this devastating fraud, saying an eastern Oregon woman in her 60s lost most of her life savings — $600,000 — after scammers posing as federal agents told her she should convert her cash to gold bars and hand them over for safekeeping. The scammers tried to siphon an additional $300,000 in gold from the woman but police intervened after the woman’s sister called the state agency’s consumer protection hotline at 877-877-9392 for help.’ 

More stories like this have been occurring over the last few weeks in Oregon, and it's probably only a matter of time before you start hearing stories like this in Washington state. 

Just a Last week the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office reported that it had happened again. This time to an 81-year-old woman who was scammed out of $284,000 in gold. Delivering it to someone she thought was an FBI agent for “safe keeping” on September 6th. She then tried to buy additional gold coins and was warned by the proprietor of the store that's she should watch out for scammers, and then the real FBI got involved. 

The police and the FBI have identified 5 different attempts to scam people into buying gold bars or coins and delivering them into the hands of people who are masquerading as FBI agents in Oregon. 

The FBI is warning that this is a scam that has been sweeping across the country and moving through Oregon. We can only assume that it's moving into Washington or is already here. 

Anytime somebody claims to be from a financial institution or law enforcement and suggests that you take money out of the bank and convert it into coins or gold bars, you should be suspicious. If they tell you that, you should then give those gold bars and coins to them for safekeeping. be very very suspicious. The first thing you should do is verify that they actually work for the organization they claim to be working for. This can be easily done by contacting that organization directly. 

This particular ring of scammers and thieves seems to be working out of India although they do have people working with them here in the States. Police organizations and the FBI have been successful in thwarting several of these scams and have actually made arrests. 

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Be suspicious. Don't do anything on the spur of the moment and protect yourself.
Scammers trick Oregon woman out of $284K in gold, police say | The Seattle Times