Queens woman loses nearly $700,000 to scammers. Her family says they found out through GoFundMe.
A Queens woman was tricked into draining her life savings through an elaborate scheme that went on for weeks, and her family says they had no clue.
The scam involved talking computers, fake officials and gold bars.
Scammers claimed to be with FTC, said victim's money wasn't safe
Last summer, scammers tricked Eva Rothman out of nearly $700,000.
She says it started when a voice started talking to her through her computer.
"A voice came on the screen saying that, you know, leave the computer alone, that my Social Security number was compromised and you have to call a certain number that was on the screen," Rothman said.
Phone records show the number she called when her computer froze.
She said the man claimed he was with the Federal Trade Commission, that she'd been hacked and that her money was not safe.
"That I would have to withdraw it and put it in a, they called it a gold reserve," Rothman said.
There would be more conversations about "protecting assets."
To gain Eva Rothman's trust, they sent her official-looking emails, used the names of real government workers and spoofed phone numbers so it looked like a specific agency was calling.
Queens woman drains accounts to buy gold
Eventually, Rothman drained all her accounts to buy gold. She spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy 24-karat gold bars and gold coins.
Mohammed Aibani owns the store where Rothman purchased the bars.
She said the scammers suggested the location, which is close to her house in Queens, and police said Aibani and his store had nothing to do with the scam.
Aibani said this was the first time he's seen a scam like this.
"This lady she came repeatedly, and when I asked her at this age, why do you buy so much gold, she said she wants to give it to her daughter," he said.
The precious metal, along with the cash, was then picked up by a courier.
"This was done in three, three trips, so these people came to this building three times to take $700,000 away," said Varda Rothman, the victim's sister-in-law.
Afterwards, Eva Rothman said she received official-looking confirmation receipts, which she thought were from the Department of Treasury.
Scammers cut off contact after wiping out victim's accounts
Eva Rothman says she spoke with the scammers on a daily basis for more than a month.
"And I couldn't say anything [to anyone]," she said. "They said that I was under surveillance and that if I told anybody, I could go to jail basically."
"We just found out about it when she posted a GoFundMe page on Facebook. My son saw it, sent us a text and said, 'Is this for real?' And we had no idea," Varda Rothman said. "These people are just pure evil."
Eva Rothman's financial advisor had also asked her if she was sure it wasn't a scam, but by that point, she was in too deep.
When the scammers wiped her out, they cut off contact. That's when Eva Rothman called police.
Since then, Rothman's sister-in-law, Varda Rothman, has been helping the family budget.
"We're doing things that we never thought they would have to do. I mean, going to a food bank," she said. "In the beginning, honestly, I was angry. Like, how do you not come to your family?"
Varda Rothman added, "It's hard, it's hard. Basically, I'm thinking about my niece, what's going to happen to her when we are no longer here."
Eva Rothman's money was supposed to go to her daughter, who has some health challenges, according to family members.
NYPD offers advice on how to avoid scams
Police are continuing to investigate this incident.
"We see a lot of these scams deal with gift cards and cash and money orders, the gold bar is unique," NYPD Crime Prevention Sgt. Kevin Kelly said.
More than a year ago, the FBI sent out an alert about a similar scam, warning seniors were being told to "liquidate assets" and "buy precious metal." There were victims in Tampa, Florida, and Columbia, South Carolina.
Kelly says always hang up the phone if you don't recognize a number and never click on links in texts or emails from unfamiliar senders.
"The scammer creates a problem, and there's a sense of urgency," he said. "And at the end of the day, there's always, you gotta pay, and whether that's payment with a gift card, or a gold bar."
