Inside the scam using couriers to collect gold bars to defraud Americans
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It doesn't sound real at first - a stranger telling you to convert your hard-earned cash into gold and then handing it over to a complete stranger.
But it's happening. People across New York and across the country are being scammed out of their life savings.
A widower in Indiana lost $80,000.
"It's scary," said Kris Owen. "I called the number and they told me my computer had been hacked."
A woman in New York City says she was scammed out of $700,000.
"I just can't understand why people do these things, they don't have a heart," said Eva Rothman.
7 On Your Side Investigates teamed up with ABC News to investigate the growing problem.
Here's how law enforcement says it works.
Victims receive a pop-up message or email on their computers saying their information has been compromised. They then call and speak to someone posing as a tech company representative or federal agent.
The scammer will convince them in order to secure their assets, they need to convert their savings into gold bars and hand them over to the government.
"It does sound crazy," said Special Agent Chris Delzotto, who's section chief of financial crimes for the FBI. "But it's happening all over the country."
"And like all good criminals there's a sense of urgency saying 'Your account's compromised right now, you need to move your money right now,'" said Delzotto.
In some cases, they send a letter to the victims claiming to be from federal agents. Once they're hooked, the scammers will convince victims to transfer their savings into gold. It's valuable and untraceable.
They'll then tell the victim a federal courier will arrive to pick up their gold. But they're not federal couriers, they're part of the scheme.
7 On your Side Investigates spoke with one of those alleged couriers who's currently in jail in Nassau County. He pleaded guilty for his involvement in one case and was on probation when he got picked up for another.
When asked how he got recruited, he said it was a "friend of a friend" from India, his native country.
Yash Shah, 27, said he was hired to deliver packages. He claims he didn't know at first he was transferring cash and gold from at least six victims over the past two years.
"I'm not, as it is, like a criminal or anything like that. I'm just a normal person. like, I'm working hard for the money," said Shah.
He said he was paid between $800 and $4,000 for each delivery. Most times, he said he was asked to take the packages and drop them off with different men on a street corner in New York City's Diamond District.
Police across the country have been targeting couriers to get the victims' money back. Shah's attorney said it's more complicated than that.
"At the root of this, he's at the base bottom level and they know that his level of knowledge and his culpability is far less than what they're looking for," said Shah's attorney Nick Ramcharitar.
Ramcharitar said his client is cooperating with investigators.
Local police are working with federal agents trying to track down the people who hired the couriers.
"It's international and any time you add an international component to a case, it makes it hard to answer some of those questions," said Delzotto.
The FBI said they know the scam has ties to call centers in India and they have agents investigating in that country as well.
"I'm sorry about that, like, what happened," said Shah. "I'm going to try to find out the guys for myself."
The FBI says don't click on any links or call any phone numbers you didn't request. They also said to lock your social media accounts as scammers are searching for victims online.
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