A WOMAN has been swindled out of her $700,000 life savings in a gold bar scam.
By the time Eva Rothman realized scammers tricked her, it was too late.
Last year, while on her computer, Rothman received an email with a link and clicked it.
After a while, her computer froze, and she received a call from an unknown number.
“The voicemail said, ‘Hi Eva, this is the FTC,'” Rothman, of Queens, New York, told WABC-TV.
That’s when an ordeal that would last for months began.
Rothman was tricked by scammers who posed as government representatives and informed her that her bank accounts were compromised and that she was being watched.
Initially, Rothman lost all the money in her checking account after being directed over the phone to take $20,000 in cash, place it in a shoebox, go outside, and wait on the street.
“I took the money, placed it in the box, went outside, and a car approached,” Rothman revealed to WABC-TV, stating that she was then told to leave the money in the car.
After draining her checking account, the scammers then manipulated the victim into buying gold bars.
Rothman was told to visit a specific store in Jackson Heights, Queens – just outside of New York City – to purchase gold bars and coins.
In just one week, Rothman visited the store three times.
Her first purchase, made on May 15th, totaled $123,000 worth of gold bars.
The second purchase was for $249,000, and the following day, on May 22, she bought 10 ten-ounce 24-karat bars, totaling $305,000.
“One 10 ounce bar can be worth around $28,000 more or less depending on the price of gold at the time,” store owner Aziz Amin said.
When Amin questioned what Rothman was planning to do with all the gold, she told him her plan was to “give to her daughter,” he told WABC-TV.
The total, including the $20,000 in cash placed in the shoebox, amounted to $698,355.
“They even asked me to take pictures of it, to text it to them, inside the box, outside. I don’t know why they need your inside box,” Rothman said.
“Outside of the box, seal it with tape, masking tape, put a case number on it that they gave me, and just bring it downstairs and put it in the car.”
Bank tips for avoiding scams
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
The scammers told Rothman not to speak about it to anyone – neither her family nor her bank – and convinced her if she told her family, they would be taken into custody.
So she kept the situation to herself.
“Well, they were saying that I was under surveillance and that I could go to jail if I told anybody,” Rothman said.
EVENTUAL REALIZATION
Despite being warned by her bank teller and financial adviser that it was likely a scam, Rothman didn’t budge.
She even received fake receipts from the US Treasury as the ordeal continued, with promises that the gold would be exchanged for a check to secure her assets.
But a few months later, when Rothman didn’t receive the check in the mail as promised, she began to suspect something was wrong and realized she was scammed.
The NYPD also confirmed during their investigation that malware was found on Rothman’s computer.
Now, Lyle Rothman, the victim’s nephew, is working to help her recover the money.
“There’s not a cent left,” he told WABC-TV.
He also issued a stark warning: “If it happened to my family it can happen to anyone.”
RECOVERY CONTINUES
After the incident, Rothman set up a GoFundMe account to help recover her losses.
“I am very embarrassed and ashamed of myself for letting this happen to me,” she wrote.
“I’m usually very aware of scams. This time the scammers knew how to deal with senior citizens, and I got taken in by them.”
“I reported this to my local police department, and they are investigating. Until I hear if I will ever receive my stolen money, I need to survive. The only income I have is Social Security, and it’s not enough to pay all my bills.”
The ripple effect of this particular scam has also been felt elsewhere.
Store owner Amin told WABC-TV he will no longer sell to senior citizens and will not accept bank transfers until he verifies them with the bank and family members.
Meanwhile, the Nassau County district attorney on Long Island has one of the alleged gold brick scammers under arrest and in jail.
That suspect is linked to the same scam, but in a separate case.
