The Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) is issuing a warning to Alabama residents about the “Gold Bar” scam that is rapidly spreading across the nation. The “Gold Bar” scam involves fraudsters impersonating government officials who convince victims to purchase gold bars to supposedly protect their nest egg. This scam involves contact from someone claiming to be a government official, often associated with a treasury department, who convinces the victim to convert money held in financial accounts into gold bars in order to “protect their nest egg.” The fraudster claims that the victim’s financial institution isn’t safe, and that physical gold is the only way to protect the assets. Once the victims agree to convert their funds to gold, the fraudsters either appear at the victim’s front door or arrange for the victim to meet them at a nearby location. The ASC urges the public to stay alert, informed, and safe. Do not become the next victim of this scam.
More generally, the scam goes like this: victims are contacted through text, email, or phone call and told their financial accounts are at risk of being compromised for various reasons, including that the accounts were subject to a cyberattack or are being used for illegal activity and must be closed. Victims are advised to empty the account, purchase the gold bars, and then deliver them over to the “government official.” For those unable or unwilling to purchase the gold themselves, the fraudster will offer and even insist on making the purchase for them. Sometimes this includes giving the “government official” remote access to your electronic devices.
Victims are scared into believing that converting their assets to gold and storing it with the government via the scammer “government official” is necessary in order to protect their assets. This is positively and always a scam. It has already caused millions of dollars in losses to Alabama investors and others across the country…