The Brief A Wisconsin woman lost $433,000 and accumulated $30,000 in debt after falling victim to a scam. Scammers convinced the victim to buy $131,000 in gold coins and hand them over to a courier. The BBB reports recent Wisconsin gold scam losses totaling about $3 million among three victims.



A Wisconsin woman thought she was protecting her money from identity thieves. Instead, she lost almost everything.

Gold buying scam

The backstory:

In a cellphone video, the woman is seen packing $131,000 worth of gold coins into an envelope. She would later hand over the coins to a courier as part of an elaborate scam.

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 It's a nightmare, it's a total nightmare,  said Mary in Oshkosh.

By the time the scam was over, Mary lost $433,000 and was $30,000 in debt.

Mary from Oshkosh

 My IRA was wiped out. There was $3.09 in my savings account,  she said.

It started when Mary clicked on a pop-up ad that appeared to be from her financial company. The scammers immediately locked her computer. She got a phone call from a man who identified himself as being from her financial company.

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 He said, 'You have been hacked,'  Mary said.

Over the next three months, the scammers impersonated government officials and the Better Business Bureau. They sent Mary forged documents and created a fake bank account for transactions. And they persuaded Mary to take steps, like buying gold, that she thought would protect her money from the hackers.

Gold coin scam

 I've scrimped and saved and did without for 40 years to have a nice retirement,  Mary said.  (The scammers said) they're helping me secure all of this. 

The scammers also had Mary sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for their help.

 I couldn't tell my children, I couldn't call my friends, I couldn't call the police,  Mary said.

BBB warning

Big picture view:

Mary is among three scam victims who reported liquidating their assets to gold to the BBB in recent weeks. Their combined losses a

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