What started with a pop-up on a computer ended with a retired couple in South Carolina handing over their entire life savings in gold to a scammer.
Michael and Roxanne Chrisman thought they were protecting their money. Instead, they were being watched by scammers who had built a months-long illusion so convincing it fooled even their bank’s security line.
“This would be like a spy novel. If somebody were writing a spy novel, this would be the perfect storyline,” Michael said.
It began with a message on his computer: the notice said the computer was locked and all of his information had been compromised. The number looked legitimate, labeled as Microsoft support, so he called. On the other end, someone calm, professional, and reassuring told Michael the threat was serious. “You’re right, you’ve been compromised. We need to fix that and you may very well have been compromised in your financial accounts also so you need to call your financial institution,” the scammer said.
Michael then called the number on the back of his credit card—not realizing all of his calls were being intercepted by the hackers themselves. “They answered as my financial institution fraud department and I said, ‘I’ve been a victim of identity theft and fraud,'” Michael explained.
Over several months and many conversations with multiple people, the hackers, posing as bank employees, instructed the couple to liquidate cash and purchase gold bars. Couriers, dressed neatly and polite, were sent to collect the packages of gold outside the victims’ Greenville home on several different occasions. “They would walk up, and then I would walk out, and then the transaction would take place. I would hand them the package, which was the gold, and they went away. We were directed at that time to go back in the house, just stay in the house, and then they would confirm that the Federal Reserve was accepting the package,” Michael said.
The couple was told the gold would be held safely by the Federal Reserve until the threat was resolved and then would be converted to cash and deposited back into their accounts.
That never happened.
“You get victimized by the actual scammers but then you’re left with the IRS and consequences of having to pay and with us we had IRAs that we let go. We had Roth IRAs, regular IRAs. We had inheritance. All kinds of things like that that are now going to be subject to paying taxes for and we’re not prepared to do that,” Roxanne said.
The FBI says the Chrismans’ story isn’t rare. Kevin Wheeler, a public affairs specialist with the agency, said that South Carolinians have already lost nearly $10 million this year to similar scams.
“We know there are multiple people in the Upstate that have experienced this or people who have attempted to scam them out of their hard-earned money,” Wheeler said. “If someone is asking you to move your money from one account into another in order to protect it, it’s likely a scam.”
The FBI is urging people, especially seniors, to be cautious. The new wave of scams often starts with fake pop-ups or text messages claiming your computer or bank account has been compromised. Once the scammers have your attention, they use fear and urgency to push you into acting fast and staying quiet.
“They told us not to tell anyone or it would jeopardize the investigation,” Roxanne said. “And we believed them.” The scammers also made sure not to leave a paper trail.
Fortunately, Roxanne snapped photos of the couriers and their vehicles, and that evidence is now part of the FBI’s ongoing investigation. But for the Chrismans, the money’s gone, and the damage is done. Their goal now is to warn others of this kind of scam.
“If we can keep someone else from being scammed or catch them in the middle of it then that’s a benefit for us,” Roxanne said.
If you are currently involved in a similar situation with a potential scammer, end communications with the scammer and do not send money. If you believe you may be a victim, contact your local law enforcement or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Source: Fox10TV