CLEVELAND — An elaborate scheme involving gold bars is costing people their life savings.
Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank spoke to Charles Johnston, the Cleveland FBI's special agent in charge, about how the scam works.
First, a pop-up ad appears on a computer, phone, or tablet saying the device may be jeopardized. The message includes a phone number to call. Someone posing as a tech company representative or a government agent tries to convince the caller that their bank account was hacked.
"We need to get your money out of that financial institution, put it into something safe until we can then correct the issues and then we'll put your money back in," said Johnston.
The imposter then tells the caller to convert their money into gold bars and give them to the government.
One man lost $80,000 worth of gold bars after handing them over to someone pretending to be a federal courier.
The FBI is investigating similar crimes nationwide.
"We've had a number of cases, including one that recently went to trial in the federal court in Toledo," said Johnston.
In February, two men from the Republic of India were convicted of a money laundering conspiracy that robbed several people in Ohio and three other states.
If you or someone you know is a victim of fraud, contact your local police department. Victims should also file a report to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
