Gold bar scam sweeping Wisconsin, costing residents their life savings
Channel 3000 News | November 17, 2024 | James Stratton

… gold bars that she purchased after scammers convinced her that her bank account was hacked. A grand total of $433,279.53 was taken from the Prescott, Wisconsin, woman …

She is not alone. Across the state of Wisconsin, 49 people have reported to the FBI they were caught up in the scam, losing a total of roughly $13 million, an average of more than a quarter-million per person.

Here’s how it works: People receive a phone call claiming their bank accounts are hacked and that to protect their money, they need to invest in gold. From there, they convince the person that it is safer to give them the gold to protect it,

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adding that it is going to the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. Then, a courier comes to their house to pick up the gold bar, and the gold is never seen again.

This woman’s case started with an email on her iPad from someone claiming to be from Apple, saying her IP address had been stolen.

“I thought, I have an Apple phone, I have an Apple iPad,” she said. “So, I thought it was legitimate.”

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… a courier was sent to her house to pick them up.

“He never said nothing to me. I never said nothing to him,” she said.

No, ummm, receipt?