There’s been an uptick in reports of elderly Bay Staters being scammed into “devastating financial losses” by fraudsters who send couriers to collect cash or gold bars from victims who think they’re either helping a family member or settling a surprise debt with the government, the FBI’s Boston Division said.
Between 2023 and May 2025, the local branch of the FBI documented 103 instances of a courier being used to pick up cash or gold bars as part of a fraud scheme, with financial losses totaling more than $26 million. Most of the victims, 59 in total, lived in Massachusetts and collectively lost $18.6 million, the FBI said. Nearly all (98%) of the losses were reported by people older than 60 years, officials said.
The FBI said in an alert that many of the schemes take the form of “grandparent,” “government impersonation,” or “tech support” scams. In all cases, the perpetrator leads the victim to think they are talking to either a family member in distress or someone threatening government or legal action. They then persuade the victim to put funds in a “government-owned” bank account or to agree to hand cash or gold over to a third-party courier sent to their address to resolve the made-up crisis.
“Simply put, what these con artists are doing is cruel. These literal gold diggers are trying to get rich quick at the expense of our aging family members and friends,” Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said. “We’re working hard to educate folks about this troubling trend to prevent others from being victimized, and we need your help. Talk to your loved ones about how to protect what’s theirs.”
Across the country during the same 2023-2025 period, the FBI said it documented at least 1,737 instances of a courier being used to pick up bulk cash or gold bars, with financial losses totaling approximately more than $186.2 million. The agency added that the true amount lost is “likely higher because many victims are ashamed and don’t know where to report the fraud, or don’t realize they’ve been scammed.”
The FBI said it is raising awareness of the scams with local financial institutions “to prevent victims from purchasing large amounts of gold or withdrawing cash for these schemes.” The agency said the government will never ask people to purchase gold or precious metals, and that people should limit the amount of information they post online.
Anyone who thinks they are a victim of these schemes should report fraud and attempted fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov as quickly as possible, officials said. Victims 60 or older who need assistance can contact their local FBI field office or the DOJ Elder Justice hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (or 833-372-8311).
