Be careful when dealing with phone calls, emails, or text messages, from people claiming to work for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - it’s most likely a scam.
This was the message from the FTC itself, warning Americans of an ongoing fraud campaign that aims to steal their hard-earned money.
In the warning, the FTC said it received countless reports from people who fell victim to these scams.
Stealing people's gold bars
"The FTC will never tell consumers to move their money to 'protect' it. The FTC will never send consumers to a Bitcoin ATM, tell them to go buy gold bars, or demand they withdraw cash and take it to someone in person. It will also never contact consumers to demand money, threaten to arrest or deport them, or promise a prize," the agency said.
"In light of surging complaints around impersonation fraud, the FTC recently announced that it has finalized the Government and Business Impersonation Rule, which gives the agency stronger tools to fight scammers and return money to consumers harmed by impersonators."
Since the FTC mentioned buying gold bars, or taking cash to someone in person, this warning is most likely related to the one the FBI sent out in late January 2024. Back then, the law enforcement agency warned of fake “tech support” agents claiming to work for the US government and telling their victims, mostly the elderly, that their accounts were being “targeted”.
To “secure” their funds, they were advised to buy gold bars, after which the fraudsters would send couriers to pick them up and keep them “safe”.
The median financial loss in this scheme, BleepingComputer further reported, surged during the last five years, from $3,000 in 2019 to $7,000 in 2024. Furthermore, the FBI received more than 14,000 reports of people impersonating the government just last year. The majority of the victims were of an older age.
Via BleepingComputer
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