Pennsylvania woman, 87, lost $1.5M in gold to fake federal agents. Police warn more victims may not know it yet

“They’re going to try to scare you,” Trooper Megan Frazer of Pennsylvania State Police told CBS 21, adding that even a caller ID that looks legitimate isn’t proof. “Unfortunately, a lot of numbers can be spoofed. Someone’s calling you saying that they’re in law enforcement. They may not be.”

State police believe there may be additional victims who haven’t been identified. Two people were taken into custody after state police stopped their vehicle on Interstate 80 in Union County on Sept. 10. But getting money back can still be tough.

“Majority of these scams, unfortunately, go overseas, so it’s kind of a dead end for law enforcement,” Frazer noted.

The bigger picture for older adults

The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report shows how much is at stake. People 60 and older filed 201,266 complaints with its Internet Crime Complaint Center, reporting $7.7 billion in losses, and 12,444 of those complainants lost more than $100,000.

Government impersonation alone drew 8,628 complaints from that age group and about $413.2 million in losses.