NEW YORK STATE (WRGB) \u2014 New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a consumer alert warning New Yorkers of increasingly common \u201cgold bar scams\u201d and providing tips to protect themselves. <\/p>\n
These scams usually start with a fake pop-up message on victims\u2019 computers, claiming their computer or financial accounts have been compromised or linked to criminal activity. The scammers convince the victim to give them remote access to their computer and then persuade the victim to convert their money into gold bars to protect their life savings. These gold bars are later collected and laundered by the scammers. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has investigated more than 100 gold bar scam cases over the past two years, with total losses exceeding $100 million. Attorney General James is providing New Yorkers with tips on how to protect themselves from these scams and is encouraging those who are contacted by scammers to file a complaint<\/a> with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).<\/p>\n \u201cTargeting older adults with seemingly legitimate claims that their life savings are in immediate danger is flat-out cruel,\u201d said Attorney General James. \u201cSeniors deserve to live comfortably without fear of losing their hard-earned savings to a manipulative scam. I am urging all New Yorkers to beware of these gold bar scams and report suspicious messages related to this scam to my office.\u201d<\/p>\n These gold bar scams typically use a fraudulent pop-up message on victims\u2019 computers, designed to resemble a legitimate cybersecurity warning. Victims are directed to provide remote access to their computer, allowing scammers to access victims\u2019 financial information or online bank accounts. The scammers create fake evidence of hacking activity on the victims\u2019 computer in order to further their scheme.<\/p>\n