No, Real Government Agents Don’t Want You to Buy Gold Bars: How to Spot and Stop This Scam

Imagine this: you get a phone call from someone claiming to be a government agent. They say your bank account has been compromised or your Social Security number is tied to criminal activity. They urge you to protect your money. How? By buying gold bars and handing them over to a "trusted" agent.

It’s a very real scam scenario and many people are falling for it.

How the scam works

Scammers impersonate law enforcement officers, FBI agents, or other federal officials. They spoof caller IDs, use official-sounding language, and even provide fake badge numbers to sound legitimate. These are all tactics designed to panic you into acting without thinking.

Here are some common hooks:

• “Your computer was hacked and your bank account is at risk.”
• “There’s a warrant out for your arrest linked to your SSN.”
• “Your money is no longer safe in your account. We need to move it to a government-secured wallet.”

They may ask you to stay on the line, instruct you not to talk to anyone else, or try to isolate you from friends and family. Once you’re hooked, you receive instructions on how to safeguard your finances by buying gold bars.

The Con: Why Gold Bars?

Scammers are turning to gold bars because they represent high-value assets that are harder to trace than digital transfers.  Once the gold exchanges hands, it’s nearly impossible to recover.

Here’s what scammers may tell you to do:

• Visit a jewelry or precious metal dealer.
• Purchase gold or bullion bars and not tell anyone why.
• Meet a “courier” at a designated location to hand off the gold.

The scammer might say the courier is a law enforcement agent. They’re not. Real government agents don’t work this way.

Red Flags

Keep your guard up if you hear any of these:

• “Buy gold bars and give them to someone” — this is a scam tactic, full stop.
• “Withdraw your cash and hand it over” — no legitimate authority will ask you to do this.
• “Don’t tell anyone, especially your bank” — secrecy is the scammer’s best friend.
• “Stay on the phone while you go to the store or bank” — they don’t want you to reflect or seek help.

What You Should Do Instead

1. Hang up immediately. Don’t engage.
2. Don’t follow their instructions, even if they sound urgent or threatening.
3. Talk to someone you trust — scammers try to isolate you.
4. Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If you have already handed over money or assets, report it to your local law enforcement and bank right away.

Use Scamio or Link Checker to Verify Suspicious Messages or Links

Before responding to any strange message, phone call, or email, verify it. Just pause a little and conduct a quick check using these free tools from Bitdefender:

• Scamio: A free AI-powered scam detector that lets you check suspicious messages, emails, websites, QR codes, and more. Just copy and paste the text into Scamio, and it’ll tell you if it’s safe or a scam. In the scam scenario we presented, you should hang up and have a quick chat with Scamio.
• Link Checker: Unsure about a link in a message or on a sketchy-looking site? Paste it into Link Checker to see if it leads to a known scam or phishing page before you click.

Encourage your parents, grandparents, and anyone you care about to bookmark these tools and use them regularly. They’re free, easy to use, and could stop a scam in its tracks.

Talk to Your Parents and Loved Ones

Gold bar scams are just one of many elaborate tricks scammers use to exploit fear and confusion. Anyone who tells you to buy gold and hand it over to safeguard your money is a scammer.

Scammers often target older adults, retirees, and individuals who may have savings, pensions, or nest eggs. These victims may not be as familiar with the latest scam tactics or may feel more pressured to act when confronted by someone claiming to be a government official.

We urge you to take a moment to talk to your parents, grandparents, and other vulnerable individuals in your life and let them know that:

• Government agents do not ask for gold bars.
• They should never withdraw cash or move money “for protection.”
• If something feels off, they should pause and call a trusted family member before doing anything.

A simple conversation could prevent devastating financial losses.