This scam is very concerning to law enforcement and scary for our citizens. The scam reaches our citizens by either a phone call, text message, or an email, stating that your computer or bank account has been compromised and the victim needs to buy gold and hand it over to this “company” to secure the victims funds. If the victim cannot buy gold, the suspects will take cash.
The concerning/scary part of this is the suspects are meeting our victims IN PERSON to get the money/gold. The suspect scopes out areas that do not have camera/security features and askes the victim to meet in those locations, sometimes at the victims’ homes! The money/gold is given to the suspects, and they quickly leave the area. Many times, the suspect hides their identity by wearing COVID style masks and sunglasses. Only after the exchange, the victim realizes that they have been scammed. This scam can be dangerous to meet strangers with no security around.
DO NOT MEET STRANGERS ON THEIR TERMS. Hopefully, you do not fall for this scam, but this is in general terms. If you are selling/buying anything or meeting a stranger for any reason, know the safe transaction sites such as the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. If they are unwilling to meet at a law enforcement public parking lot, I would question if I wanted to conduct/continue business with them.
Remember, you have time to figure out what is truly happening. Do not let your emotions get the better of you. Whenever, you get a message regarding your finance’s, you should contact the bank through an accurate contact/phone number. Do not use the contact info from the call/email/text message to verify. Only contact accurate businesses to verify. If you need help finding true and accurate numbers, call your local law enforcement agency for assistance. We would much rather have you contact us than to fall victim.