New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued a consumer alert warning New Yorkers of increasingly common “gold bar scams” and providing tips to protect themselves. These scams usually start with a fake pop-up message on victims’ computers, claiming their computer or financial accounts have been compromised or linked to criminal activity. The scammers convince the victim to give them remote access to their computer and then persuade the victim to convert their money into gold bars to protect their life savings. These gold bars are later collected and laundered by the scammers.

“Targeting older adults with seemingly legitimate claims that their life savings are in immediate danger is flat-out cruel. Seniors deserve to live comfortably without fear of losing their hard-earned savings to a manipulative scam. I am urging all New Yorkers to beware of these gold bar scams and report suspicious messages related to this scam to my office.” – AG James