Scammer steals $500,000 in Gold coins from Oregon woman

Here's a way to avoid 90 percent of scams.

Don't answer the phone, and don't click links in emails.

It's pretty simple, really. If you don't interact with scammers, they can't scam you. It's highly unlikely that a crook will show up at your door and let you see his face -- at least initially. (It's not out of the question, but not likely.) So, if you just refuse to respond to their initial outreach, you're going to be pretty safe.

I get it -- a lot of people just can't resist picking up that phone to see who's on the other end. But trust me, if it's important, they'll leave a message.

As for those emails, if they seem legit, you can always go directly to the company website and log in to your account. There is no need to click that strange link.

If a lady in Oregon had followed this simple advice, she probably wouldn't be $500,000 poorer today.

It all started when the 70-year-old woman picked up the phone. The caller told her he was from the Federal Office of the Inspector General, and there was fraudulent activity associated with her Social Security number. 

In an era of identity theft, this seems plausible.

It wasn't. 

I get it. A good scammer can sound very convincing. (On a side note, most of them aren't good. It's pretty obvious "Bob" with the thick accent calling from a Filipino area code isn't an OIG investigator! Also, that email from AT&T with the Hotmail extension is fake!)

If you ever happen to connect with a plausible-sounding scammer, you can always hang up and call the agency they claim to represent to verify.

Unfortunately, this Oregon woman didn't. She took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

According to the Clark County Sheriff's Office, the scammer conned her into withdrawing most of her savings, buying gold coins, and giving them to "an undercover agent" who promised he would give them back later. The scammer convinced her that this was part of a "federal process" to transfer assets to a new Social Security number.

You'll not be shocked to learn that this isn't a thing.

As the Clark County Sheriff said, "Legitimate law enforcement agencies will never ask for payment in gold, gift cards, or cryptocurrency."

So, be careful out there. There are a lot of unsavory characters.

Don't trust and always verify.

The Clark County Sheriff offered another bit of good advice.

"Young people should check on their elderly friends and family to make sure they are aware of these scams."