Rochester business saves local woman from losing $400,000+ through scam

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Near the end of April, Med City Coin & Bullion received a call from a woman who requested to buy thousands of dollars’ worth of gold. Upon further questioning on the buyer’s intent, the owner made a call to police, saving her from a scam that would have costed her about $408,000.

According to the local woman who wishes not to be named, the incident started with a pop-up that appeared when she was using Facebook on her computer—one alleging her device was temporarily disabled for suspicious activity. Along with this, the message included, what it claims, a Microsoft support phone number, to which the woman said she called.

“He said your internet address has been hacked,” she recalled. “He offered free security like a Windows firewall.”

Since then, the woman shared the alleged support staff initiated daily interactions with her.

“He had me like a prisoner,” she said. “He had set it up that he would call every morning at 10 a.m. and afternoon at 3 p.m. What they would do, he’d dial my number and let it ring four times, and it goes into voicemail.”

The woman explained the support staff informed hackers found out where her money was, and brought in an alleged banker from her financial institution to collaborate in helping enhance her security.

“The bank called saying the Federal Reserve and Social Security are going to purchase gold bullion,” she said. “They did it all between the banker and Microsoft. Those people made all the plans and then they tell me a little of this and a little of that just to keep me hanging.”

After days of claiming to improve her security, the conversations led to her needing to invest in gold. To do so, the woman said the helpers told her to call Med City Coin & Bullion.

“She said that she wanted to buy about $400,000 in gold,” the business’s owner, Mike DeMarino, said. “She wanted 10 oz. bars of gold, which is a big chunk. I said that’s kind of not the right way to do it.”

DeMarino inquired further on the woman’s request, only to learn there were more and more red flags.

“She said she had some help with some gentlemen that were helping her come up with these numbers,” he said. “She had said she had some Microsoft issue and a couple of different things that kind of red-flagged for me. And then as I talked to her much longer, I come to find out that these people were telling her what to do, how much to do, and not to let your family know about it.”

After hearing this, DeMarino’s suspicion was confirmed, prompting him to call the police. He said, “They went over, and they knocked on her door, and they were actually able to stop this from happening.”

“The tears started rolling on my eyes,” added the woman, recalling the moment when the law enforcement officer was helping her. “I was so relieved I had the detective there.”

Although the scam failed and a good ending was celebrated, DeMarino and the woman wished to share the story to spread awareness and prevent scams of such nature from succeeding.

“Someday, someplace, somewhere, somebody’s going through the same thing and as much as you’re aware of it, things can still happen,” the woman said. “It’s very humiliating and embarrassing to have to tell my friends now that I’ve gone through this, but on the other hand, I already feel I’ve helped a few One lady in particular, she thanked me and thanked me and thanked me over and over the rest of the afternoon that I was with her.”

DeMarino said scams such as this tend to target elderly people who happen to live alone. He added, “If it wasn’t for a team effort, honestly this young lady probably would have lost half a million dollars.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of a fraud or scam and incurred a financial loss, call the Rochester/Olmsted County Law Enforcement Center at (507) 328-6800 (non-emergency number). If you want to report a scam but have not suffered a financial loss, please contact the Federal Trade Commission at (877) 382-4357. Another option is to visit the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. For more information on fraud and identity theft prevention, visit Olmsted County’s website.

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