Real Government Agents Aren’t Asking You to Buy and Deliver Gold

If you are contacted by someone unexpectedly and they tell you to buy gold bars and give them to someone (anyone) to “protect your money,” this is a scam! Stop right away! Do not do what they are telling you to do.

Below are how these scams work and how to avoid them.

There are a few ways this scam might happen. You might get a message, email, or phone call stating your bank account or computer has been hacked. The scammer may also say that your name and social security number are linked to crimes. They will try to gain your trust and say they are a government agent or law enforcement (they’re not). They will then pressure you to act fast. To “protect your money,” they tell you to buy gold bars and hand them to someone, move your money to a “secure government” account, or withdraw cash and give it to someone to “keep it safe.”  These are all scams!

No one from the government or law enforcement will ever tell you to buy gold bars and hand them over to someone, move your money, or give cash to anyone. If you receive a message, email, or phone call requesting this, it is a scam!

To help spot a scam, listen for the following:

• “Buy gold bars and hand them to someone” is a scam. It does not matter who they say you are giving the bars to. Don’t give bars to a courier, and don’t deliver them. It’s a scam!
• “Move your money to protect it” is a scam. No government official or law enforcement (nobody legit) will tell you to protect your money by transferring or withdrawing it from your bank or investment accounts. —But scammers will.
• “Withdraw cash and give it to [anyone]” is a scam. Always. Every time. It’s a scam.

If you hear any of the above, stop. Hang up. Delete the email. Stop texting. Block their number. Tell someone you trust what happened and then tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Source: Real government agents aren’t asking you to buy and deliver gold bars

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