BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston police are warning about a new scam that pushes people to withdraw cash or buy gold and silver to “protect” their savings.
The thieves will message a victim pretending to be from the government or tech support, then tell the victim their bank account is hacked and they have to withdraw funds or buy precious metals to keep their money safe. The scammers will even send couriers to pick up the metals from victims’ houses.
Many people are already weary of scams and already have safeguards in place.
“I have safe words with my close contacts so nobody can swindle me and then if it doesn’t match the number that I have saved then I typically don’t respond to them at all,” said Mike, a local resident.
Some people are warning their whole families about it.
“I talk to my wife about it, I talk to my daughters about it, not to click on random links — if you don’t know the phone number that you're getting the message from, do not click on it,” said another local resident.
Older members of families may need some extra help in avoiding scams. Boston police say the gold scam often targets seniors.
Gregory is taking serious precautions to make sure his mother doesn’t fall victim.
“She doesn’t have an iPhone, she doesn't have any bank details on her phone, nothing. Just regular calling, all that,” Gregory said.
Local resident Max is his mother’s caregiver, so he’s also able to keep track of all his mother’s information.
“I usually check her emails, I’m on her bank account as somebody that can get the information and purchases on her credit cards, things like that. I keep an eye on them daily,” Max said.
The gold scam cost victims over $55 million last year alone. To avoid the scam, Boston police are advising people not to share their home address or meet up with strangers, avoid clicking on pop-up messages, avoid calling phone numbers that appear in pop-ups, and to avoid installing software when asked by an unknown individual.
WBZ's Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports.
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