Fake Microsoft Call Leads to Gold Bar Pickup: Elaborate Scam Victims Lose Over $100M

The New York Police Department is warning older residents about a fraud that starts with a fake Microsoft virus warning on a home computer. It runs through a sequence of impersonators and ends with a courier collecting gold bars from the front door. Police believe hundreds of people have been caught, with reported losses across the city passing $100M (£74M).

Investigators went public this month to reach victims who have not reported. Sergeant Rashawn Vaughn of the Financial Crimes Task Force said the unit wants as many as possible to come forward. Police also released surveillance footage of one handover.

The video shows an elderly woman in Flatbush, Brooklyn, passing a scammer roughly $300,000 (£222,000) in gold bars. Investigators said she had been told her bank accounts were compromised, and that converting her savings into gold would keep them safe. She believed she was giving the metal to the Internal Revenue Service.

How the Fake Microsoft Pop-Up Leads to a Gold Bar Pickup

It starts on screen. A pop-up appears claiming to come from Microsoft, telling the user their computer is infected and giving a number to call to unlock it. The number reaches the criminals, who talk the victim into granting remote access.

Detective Emilio Gomez of the task force's Cybersquad told ABC7 New York that once the fraudsters have control, 'they have access to your webcam, your printer, your audio and your computer.'

More calls follow, from people posing as the US Treasury Department or as police officers. They tell the victim the money is unsafe and must be liquidated into gold. Police said the callers create a false sense of urgency and instruct victims not to contact law enforcement.

A courier is then sent to the home. The victim and courier stay on the phone with the same scammer, usually someone based in Asia claiming to be on US soil. The caller supplies a code name or number for the courier to repeat at the door.

Inside the NYPD Gold Bar Scam Investigation

The NYPD has worked the case since May 2024, alongside Homeland Security, the IRS, and police in other states. Officers describe the scheme as national rather than local.

The department's Cyber Investigations Group said it has investigated more than 100 gold bar cases in two years, and puts its largest single loss at $9.8M (£7.3M). Vaughn described the sums as 'very, very staggering', citing a separate case in which a victim lost $5.8M (£4.3M). Targets are aged from their 60s to their 90s and have been found across all five boroughs.

Some gold has been recovered in search warrant raids, and police hope to use the proceeds to pay New York victims a percentage in restitution. No arrests or charges have been announced.

What Federal Data Shows About the Gold Bar Scam

The FBI has documented the same layered script and calls it the Phantom Hacker. Imposter tech support comes first, then a fake financial institution, then a fake government official, each building trust and steering the victim toward the most valuable account.

Its Boston division recorded at least 1,737 courier pickups of bulk cash or gold nationally between 2023 and May 2025, worth roughly $186M (£138M). Of those, 103 in its own four-state area accounted for $26M (£19.3M), about 98% of it lost by people over 60. Reported losses are likely higher, the bureau said, because victims are ashamed or do not know where to report.

Americans over 60 filed more than 201,000 complaints to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2025 and reported losses above $7.7B (£5.7B), a 59% rise on the year. Tech and customer support fraud accounted for $2.1B (£1.6B) across all ages. Federal Trade Commission figures show consumers reported losing $60M (£44M) to scammers posing as Microsoft in 2023, more than for any other company.

The guidance from the NYPD and the FBI is the same. Never call a number given in a pop-up, and reach a bank only on its official customer service line. No government agency or legitimate business will ask anyone to buy gold or precious metals. Vaughn urged families to check on older relatives. 'Just make sure they are not buying gold bars.'