Queens woman loses $700,000 to gold bar scam involving fake officials and FTC impersonators

Summary

A Queens woman lost nearly $700,000 to scammers in a months-long scam involving fake officials and gold bars. The scam began last summer when a voice on her computer claimed her Social Security number was compromised and directed her to call a number. Scammers impersonated the Federal Trade Commission and convinced her to transfer money to a "gold reserve." She purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold bars and coins from a Queens store, following the scammers' instructions. Her family discovered the scam after she posted a GoFundMe page on Facebook. The victim's financial advisor had warned her about the possibility of a scam, but she was too deep in the scheme to stop. The NYPD is investigating, and authorities have warned about similar scams targeting seniors.