The FBI St. Louis office is warning about a new scam.
The scam involves tricking the victims to contact the scammers through pop ups or text messages and convincing them to hand over cash or gold and silver to a courier who will show up at their home and take it for safe keeping because their “accounts have been hacked.” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Joe Weston says these scams are layered and elaborate and keep up with trends in order to to convince their victims. Scammers have been so successful, they are also using couriers to pick up money from victims who think it will be used to invest in cryptocurrency.
"They'll initially get these people interested in some kind of a crypto investment opportunity and they say, OK, well to invest we need to actually take your money out of your accounts, out of your savings accounts, put them into cash."
Weston says these schemes are so convincing, some victims still believe they aren't being scammed.
"We have seen that happen where people are convinced that they're doing the right thing and it can be a challenge trying to help them realize that they are being scammed."
Weston says if you feel you or a loved one is being targeted by this type of scam that involves a courier, reach out to the FBI immediately before a courier picks up the cash/gold.
The St. Louis branch of the FBI is warning about a new scam that has cost locals already over a million dollars.
The St. Louis branch of the FBI is warning about a new scam that has cost locals already over a million dollars.
