Woman loses more than $400K of retirement savings to gold courier scam

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Wis. (InvestigateTV) — It can start with a pop-up on the computer screen and sometimes ends with the innocent victim handing over their life savings to a scammer.

The FBI reported in 2025 that the “gold courier” scam alone drained more than $300 million from victims.

Criminals trick victims, often retirees, that their personal information has been compromised. The scammer then convinces them that in order to secure their assets, they need to convert cash into gold bars or coins.

Then the fraudsters send a fake courier to collect the gold in person.

A Wisconsin woman lost more than $400,000 of her retirement savings after scammers impersonated federal agencies, her investment company and the Better Business Bureau to convince her she was protecting her money.

“Forty years’ worth of savings, and it’s gone,” said the woman, who we will call Mary.

How it began

Mary said the scheme started when she clicked a pop-up on her computer while scheduling an appointment with her financial advisor. “With their logo on it,” she noted.

“They locked my computer to the point where I couldn’t even shut it off manually,” Mary said.

She then received a call from someone claiming to represent her investment company, who told her the account had been hacked and that she was a suspect in weapons dealing and money laundering.

“Someone just took out a high-interest loan in your name for $35,000,” Mary said, recounting what she was told.

“And they showed me eight places where my Social Security number was being used,” she said. “So now I’m terrified. I’m absolutely terrified.”

The callers told Mary her financial advisor was also a suspect and that she should not speak to anyone. They sent a non-disclosure agreement directly to her printer.

Impersonators and gold purchases

Calls continued from people impersonating the sheriff’s office, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission, making her believe they were working to restore her account. “That’s the trick is to get your confidence.”

Mary said the callers told her she needed to purchase gold to protect her money.

Mary spent $131,208 on 24 gold coins.

Then came a twist: A call from the Better Business Bureau, telling her she’s been scammed.

“He said, ‘You’ve been working with the scammers. You need to stop right now. And I’m going to help you,’” Mary said.

But it was an imposter. The caller arranged for a courier to collect the gold coins from Mary in a fast food parking lot. Mary said she was given only a first name and a password to identify the courier — the courier had a description of her car and clothing, but she had no description of them.

Months of continued fraud

Mary said people at her bank and at the business where she purchased the gold questioned her about the large cash withdrawals.

“I had to keep making excuses why I wanted these large amounts of cash,” she said.

She continued because she believed her money was being recovered and could see it appearing to be restored in her account. She was also instructed to purchase Bitcoin and thousands of dollars in gift cards.

“I put 600 miles on my car just running all over town, buying gift cards,” Mary said. “But you see it put back into your account. It’s all there.”

The fraud continued for three months. It ended when Mary tried to call the person she believed was her BBB contact and found the number had been disconnected.

“I grabbed everything, and I went right down to the police station,” she said.

‘Unprecedented’ loss, officials warn

Mary also contacted the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau to report that imposters had stolen more than $400,000 in her name.

“The extent was unprecedented. I mean, this is probably the largest amount of money loss that we’ve had reported in one single scam,” said Lisa Schiller of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau.

The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions said the scam is surging and frequently targets seniors, using gold as part of the ruse to convince victims they are protecting or recovering their money. Officials said the operations are often run by international crime networks that use couriers for pickups.

• Related link: Real government agents aren’t asking you to buy and deliver gold bars (FTC)

“Hang up your phone or shut down your computer, because once you engage with them, you go down the rabbit hole with them and it’s very hard to disengage at that point, psychologically,” said Robin Jacobs of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

Investigation ongoing, no arrests

Local police investigating Mary’s case said in a statement: “We are looking at all aspects of this investigation to try and identify suspects; that would include trying to find video, if any is available. This investigation is still ongoing, and at this time we are not sure if it is connected with other crimes.”

No arrests have been made.

Mary said she does not know whether she will recover any of her savings.

“There’s no guarantee that any of it will come back,” she said. “The banks aren’t responsible, you’re responsible, because you did it.”

Mary is bravely sharing her story to prevent others from becoming victims.

“I don’t want this to happen to anybody else, because this is a nightmare,” Mary said. “I’m freaking out. Am I going to have to file bankruptcy? Am I going to lose my house? I mean, I’m terrified.”

Officials advise the public to never trust anyone who calls and instructs them to move money to protect it or to hand over gold.

They also warn against allowing people they do not know to access their computer or personal information. If you receive a call from an unknown number you’re advised to hang up, call someone you’re familiar with, or call the police.

Any suspected fraudulent activity to the FBI at ic3.gov