Account of an Elder Scam

In this industry, we often hear about and are sometimes even unwittingly drawn into elder scams. The scam is a confidence game in which an elderly person is somehow convinced that their assets have come under attack and the only way to protect them is to turn it over to the scammer for safekeeping, done either electronically or via a gold purchase. When speaking of these incidents, the most common reaction is how can anyone be so gullible?  The elderly victims are often not able to recount the details much later, so the extent and depth of the confidence game often remains shrouded in mystery.  This is why this account from GW is so compelling.  Articulate and detail oriented, GW took extensive contemporaneous documentation of every action and conversation showing the scale and sophistication of this confidence game that is seldom reported in such detail. 

The scam began when GW experienced a flashing red screen on a phishing web site. These sites disable the user’s ability to easily close the screen and unless the user knows how to use control-alt-delete to kill the process, he will need to seek assistance to fix the problem. The screen of course happens to have a Microsoft Support number which has nothing to do with Microsoft.   GW calls this number and is drawn into a sophisticated ring of con-men who posing as tech support, bank officials, officers of the Federal Reserve, and fraud department specialists convince him that his accounts across multiple sites and platforms are under attack by hackers and his financial information is being used on pornography sites and to make purchases in his name.  They convinced him that the only way to secure his checking account was to drain it and deposit the funds in a crypto account that they had set up for him (their account).  They then went after his investment accounts with Schwab and Fisher, trying to get him to first buy real estate, which fell through, and then later to buy $350,000 of gold, which brought him to me.

All throughout this confidence game, the scammers emphasized that his actions had to be done secretly to avoid alerting the hackers and told him what to say to the very people that have a legitimate fiduciary responsibility to protect him, i.e. they told him to lie. He lied to Huntington Bank when they asked him why he wanted to withdraw his checking account balance in cash.  He lied to me when I asked him the standard questions when someone wants to make a large gold purchase

- Did you come up with this idea on your own?

- Is anyone asking you to buy this gold?

- Is anyone extorting or threatening you?

- Are you going to be turning this gold over to anyone for safekeeping? The buyer is often annoyed by this intrusive questioning, but no one wants to be drawn into an elder scam.  The scammers know the banks and brokers, and coin and bullion dealers have safeguards to prevent this and they took care to coach him around all of our questions. The scam began to unravel when GW finally told his lawyer what had been happening to him.  The lawyer recognized the con game and told him to cease all activities and discussions.   If GW had not been so isolated, it may have been unraveled earlier but part of the execution of the con game is to isolate the victim from anyone that could ask uncomfortable questions.  Without further preface, here is the account of the con in the victim’s own words.

GW’s Notes

—M 06.30.25 9:15 a.m. computer locks because of Windows Defender detecting an attempt to enter my system

—Kai [Gabriel], Microsoft Support: 858.707.5598

—My file ID #MS093X4B

—Call to Huntington Bank. Kai Nelson ID #H986T704

            —Network and phone have been hacked

            —Financial information used on porn sites

            —Puts my accounts on high security for next 48-72 hours; monitored constantly

—At 4:33 a.m. an automated purchase for $11,500 was OK’d to Pornhub

—No way to block the purchase. The only way to delete it is to make a duplicate purchase and then be able to cancel both

—Kai Nelson, Huntington secure phone line: (715) 602-3439

—Need to open an IPD (instant personalized digital account), the only kind that cannot be accessed fraudulently

—There are government verified machines in various locations where IPD accounts can be used

—Spoke with Adrian Walters, Huntington Fraud Department manager

            —My credit cards are OK

            —My checking and savings accounts are vulnerable

—Notified my ID and financial data have been compromised

            —My WIFI network and phone have been hacked

            —My financial information has been used on porn websites (Pornhub)

—06.30 in the morning (11:55 am) went to my Huntington branch on Washtenaw to withdraw from my checking account $11,500 (115 $100 bills). Said Bill Palmer a contractor in Dexter who has done work for me before is doing some remodeling in my condo.

—Went to the Corner Buzz Smoke Shop in the strip mall at Ford Blvd. and Holmes Rd. and fed the 115 $100 bills into a yellow Bit Coin machine. Kai Nelson confirmed that I was not buying Bit Coin but was depositing the money in my IPD account.

—At some point we made the duplicate purchase and then cancelled both purchases on the porn site, thus saving my $11,500.

—At 2:36 pm went to the Huntington branch on Michigan Avenue in Canton after calling to find out if they had on hand the amount I needed. Withdrew $10,000 from savings and $2,500 from checking (125 $100 bills). The reason given: a family emergency.

—The $12,500 in 125 $100 bills was fed into the same Bit Coin machine at the Corner Buzz Smoke Shop

—Thus $24,000 was removed from my vulnerable Huntington checking and savings accounts and secured in my IPD account.

—In one day, I fed 240 $100 bills into a Bit Coin machine to deposit it into my IPD account.

—On Monday, June 30, 2025, I spent a total of 7 hours talking on the phone, going to two different banks, and making two trips to the Bit Coin machine.

—Tu 07.01.2025, Kai Nelson told me there had been 272 attempts overnight to get into my account---attempts made in CA, FL, NJ, Chicago, TX, NY---indicating this is the work of a group of hackers in various locations

—The feds are assigning someone to my case: a Federal Officer from the Federal Reserve Bank named David Nowak

—For 24 hours there will be no access to my IPD account. I currently have 1K+ in my Huntington checking account and 1K+ in my savings account

—From 1:04-1:16 pm I spoke briefly on the phone with David Nowak, ID#FRS1197N, of the Federal Reserve. In the next 24 hours, they will be checking on my MECU and Schwab accounts

—W 07.02.2025, I gave Kai Nelson the four names of the persons on my Team 503 at Fisher Investments.

—There were 50 attempts to get into my accounts overnight

—Spoke with David Nowak at noon. He informed me the hackers have attempted to purchase child pornography with my financial information. They’ve applied at Chase Bank for a $300,000 loan. They have laundered $700,000 at several banks such as Wells Fargo and First Financial to overseas accounts. They’ve used my financial information in online betting.

—My SS# is infected and will eventually be blocked according to Nowak

—In a 20-to-25-day time frame, all of my financial assets will be placed in a Federal locker at the Federal Reserve System. When all of that is accomplished, a Federal officer, a Social Security office, and a Huntington Bank representative will come to my door and give me a new Social Security number and new bank account numbers. My new Social Security number will be on high security for life. [Perhaps, similar to SS#’s of people in witness protection programs.]

—I will be the one to transfer all my assets to the Federal locker in approximately 15 days

—Since the 1974 Privacy Act prohibits sharing any of my personal information, all of our activities must remain secret.

—Kai Gabriel (Microsoft) and Kai Nelson (Huntington) each have a code word they give me at the beginning of any telephone conversation

—Kai Nelson has me scroll on Realtor.com to find a property selling for $350,000.00. I find 10 acres at 3498 Gensley Rd., A2 48103 for $350K. Listing agent: Todd Lands, 734.429.9449. Reinhart.

—At 2:40 pm. I call Fisher Team 500 and tell Everett Brower about my intention to purchase this property.

—From 3:33 to 4:05 pm when I call back, no one on the team is available so I end up talking to Giancarlo. My total investments at Schwab is approximately $638K. We figure out I can liquidate $200K from my Roth IRA account, $150K from the rollover IRA, and $30K from the trust account for taxes. So a total of $380K will be liquidated.

—At 6:30 pm Amber Montgomery called with all the cautions I should be aware of. (Earlier in the week, they saved a man from losing $500K to scammers.) At 6:58 pm Amber followed with a voice mail saying they would need the address of the property, how I will use it, how I heard about it. At 7:12 pm she sent an email giving me a heads-up that they will need some kind of documentation because of the large amount. I forwarded the email to Kai Nelson as FYI.

—Th 07.03.2025. 9:43-9:59am Kai Gabriel

—10-10:59am Kai Nelson. Info about call and email from Amber Montgomery at Fisher Investments

—10:55am, I sent the link to the property site to Amber

—1:04-1:50pm, Kai Nelson. 1:35p, voicemail from Amber asking for real estate agent’s contact information. Kai will call back in 1.5 hrs. when he finishes filling out the purchasing form for the property

—2:55-3pm, Kai will send the form to me tomorrow. He’s finding it more complicated than he thought (and originally he was going to have me fill it out, but only partially

—4-4:10pm, Kai Gabriel says they are 50% finished working on my network and will be 55% finished by the end of the day. Everything is being monitored, so they will catch any attempts to intrude

—F 07.04.2025. 11:10-11:33am, Kai Gabriel reports 60% of the work is completed, and they are working on the other 40%

—When he called again at 4pm, he said they are checking with my local internet provider regarding possible weak points in the network

—1:27-1:40pm, Kai Nelson will call at 10am tomorrow

—Sa 07.05.2025. Huntington checking: $859.67; savings: $1,197.22; Money Mkt: $13,577.71; H-chg cd: $240.61

—10:34-10:52am, Kai Nelson reports that on Thursday on Amazon that did not go through for 2 iPhones, an iPad, a Mac laptop. David Nowak caught the activity and blocked it. The total amount was about $6,000. My SS# was used, but no phone or email of mine. Apparently, the order was to be cash on delivery to 210 Main St., Manning, OH; but when agents went to the address, they found nothing.

—11:11-11:35am, Kai Gabriel had me run commands for scans, etc., and report statistics. 60% completed; working on the other 40%

—Su 07.06.2025. At 11am, Kai Gabriel was a no-show. I waited 45 minutes then left a message for him at 11:46am and went to shop at By the Pound. At 12:37pm as I was driving home, and we talked briefly on the car phone. He had an emergency at home (sick niece or nephew; Kai was the only adult there) He will call tomorrow.

—M 07.07.2025. 11:12-11:40am, Kai Gabriel reported 65% completed

—12:01-12:10am, Kai Nelson spoke with me. At approximately 12 Noon, I relayed a voicemail from Amber at Fisher asking for something in writing re: the purchase or contact information for the real estate agent I’m working with.

—4:01-4:15pm, I reported to Kai Gabriel the bogus Wells Fargo Alert email I received saying that my account has been temporarily suspended because of suspicious activity. His team will be 70% finished by tomorrow

—On 07.07.2025. After transferring $1000 to my Huntington checking account, my MECU accounts are as follows: Shares $4,869 and Share Draft $1,639

—T 07.08.2025. 11:13-11:35am, Kai Gabriel had me activate scans, etc.

—12-12:16pm, Kai Nelson directed me to give Amber at Fisher his name and phone number as the real estate agent.

—I sent an email to Amber apologizing for my slow response to her inquiries, but it was because I was dealing with a personal matter. Because of that I will be postponing the purchase of the property for the next few weeks, but I want Fisher to go ahead with the liquidation as previously discussed.

—3:59-4:15pm, Kai Gabriel reports 70% completed. As usual at this time of the day he has me start the malicious software scan that runs for 2.5 or 3 hours.

—W 07.09.2025. Kai Gabriel reported that local authorities (Dallas, Texas) had raided a location that they had tracked as one used by the hackers. They found no hackers, but they did find 10 laptops that contained personal information on 100 people. He says they think there are 10 to 15 hackers in the group

—1:02-1:23pm, Kai Nelson will tell me in a couple of days what to tell Amber about my cancelling the plan to buy the property and what other investments I may be considering. He said they are looking for investments that do not require paperwork that has to go through official offices, etc.; thus, they can acquire paperwork to give to Amber. Earlier he had wanted me to send here a zoning map for the area of the property, but I told him that made no sense since I wasn’t planning on building on the property.

     In answer to a question I asked (a question Jeff C. had asked me), Kai told me that only the Huntington Fraud Prevention Team (including Federal agents) has access to my IPD account

—Th 07.10.2025. 9:04-9:14am, Kai Nelson reported there had been attempts at 6 am to get into my system. He asked me where I shop: Meijer at Ford Rd. and Canton Center Rd. in Canton; and at Fresh Thyme on Washtenaw Ave. in Ypsilanti. I told him the majority of the time I use the self-checkout devices. He said they are looking for a loophole where my personal information was leaked.

—9:03-9:04am, Kai Gabriel transferred me to Kai Nelson, who was supposed to have called 8:30-8:45am but didn’t show up.

     9:15-9:31am, resumed with Kai Gabriel and ran usual scans, ending with the malicious software removal tool which runs for 2.5-3 hours. When I asked, Kai told me the raid he mentioned yesterday took place in Dallas, Texas.

—F 07.11.2025. 4:26-4:39pm, Kai Nelson. I had to call him because Kai’s calls were going directly to my voicemail at 4:20, 4:20, 4:22, and after our call dropped at 4:36. Late as he frequently is, Kai was supposed to call at 4pm.

     Kai Gabriel told Kai Nelson that he would not be calling me today. He and his team are working on my equipment and network.

     Tomorrow Kai Gabriel will call at 4pm and then transfer me to Kai Nelson at 4:30pm. This is the message Kai N. will convey to Kai G.

—Sa 07.12.2025. Kai Gabriel was told by Kai Nelson to call me at 4:30 (instead of the agreed upon 4pm).

     4:40-5:10pm. His calls were not connecting, so I called Kai G. who was using Kai N.’s phone line. Kai G. will not be calling me Sunday and Monday because he will be dealing with family issues that require his attention.

     He and his team are going over and over everything in my system to find loopholes and add security measures. When they are finished, they will build a new firewall.

     I stopped Kai G. from transferring me to Kai N. because I had no more time. Kai G. checked, then came back to tell me Kai G. has to report daily contact with me to the federal officer, so I should send Kai N. a text explaining what I just told Kai G. I sent the following email: “We agreed that you would tell Kai G. to call me at 4 today. Instead, you told him 4:30, which was supposed to be the time I would talk to you. The 40 minutes I waited for either of you to call could have been your time to talk to me. Now I have run out of available time. This was not a simple misunderstanding; it’s an example of how cavalier you are with other people’s time.”

     Kai Nelson will call Monday at 12 noon. Kai Gabriel will tell me Monday what time he will call Tuesday.

—Su 07.13.2025. No calls scheduled.

—M 07.14.2025. 2:28-2:38pm. I explained to David Nowak, officer of the Federal Reserve Banking System, that I felt we were stuck because I can’t do what Kai Nelson is asking me to do. The add-on to the property-buying scenario is not convincing---just as the original plot was not convincing---and I can’t talk to Amber Montgomery at Fisher Investments because I won’t be able to answer her questions.

     David will try to intervene to get the money released from Fisher, but he first has to discuss it with the people he reports to.

     Kai Nelson will call at 4:30pm tomorrow.

—T 07.15.2025. 4:27-4:46pm. I may have finally gotten through to Kai Nelson about the time issue because he actually called three minutes early today. The property I was going to buy was purchased by someone else, so now I will be investing elsewhere. The new scenario will be that I buy gold, actually buy $350,000 worth. A Federal Gold Account will be opened in my name where the gold will be deposited. (Either there or in a locker at Huntington Bank??). I will talk to a gold retailer after Kai gives me all the details about purchasing gold. So, there will be paper work to give to Amber, and she will be able to call the person I am buying from.

     I did quite a bit of “yelling” at Kai about how he gives me partial information on these half-baked schemes I’m supposed to go along with. I have to pry details out of him for the plan to make any sense at all.

     Kai will call tomorrow at 9 am to give me all the details on how I will go about buying gold and what I will tell Amber.

—W 07.16.2025. Kai Nelson was a no-show for our 9am appointment. At 9:25am I sent the following text message:

     GW: I have waited 25 minutes for you to show up for our 9:00 phone appointment this morning, and I'm not waiting any longer. Furthermore, I do not want to speak to you again until I've spoken with your supervisor.

     At 4:20pm Kai sent the following text (my responses included):

Good Evening Sir.

I can explain sir. There was a network problem with my system same kind that we were facing day before yesterday and that network problem was happing because of the malware which could have led our conversation to be get compromised that is why i was enable to contact.

     GW: I just sat down to an early dinner. Even with your explanation of the system problem, I still want to talk to your supervisor before I talk to you.

Sure You Can Sir

At what Time you would like to talk to my supervisor?

GW: 6:30pm today or tomorrow.

Supervisor won't stay that long as you know

its after office hours.

GW: Tomorrow at 2pm

okay sir

GW: Who will be placing the call?

I will sir.

—Th 07.17.2025. 2pm appointment to speak to Kai Nelson’s supervisor. Kai calls at 2:01pm, then goes to check with his supervisor. He says it will be 10 or 15 minutes till the supervisor can come to the phone.

     I tell Kai I received another voicemail from Amber Montgomery while I was at the dentist this morning. The message had the usual request for information. I wrote a reply telling her the property purchase was out because another buyer purchased the land. I said I was considering several investment opportunities and would get back to her when I had something concrete.

     The 15-minute wait to speak to the supervisor turned into two hours. At 3:53, Kai sent a text asking if I could talk then.

     4:03 – 4:14 pm I spoke with Valerie Clark, a Senior Supervisor in the Fraud Prevention Department at Huntington Bank. I told her my complaints about Kai’s frequent late arrival for our telephone appointments and how frustrating that is, as well as interfering with cooperation. I also told her he is “bloody awful” at explaining things and describing processes, often leaving out key bits of information that I have to dig out of him to try understanding whatever scenario is at hand. I also told here we are stuck because Fisher Investments is fulfilling its fiduciary role in wanting some kind of documentation before releasing my funds. Valerie was very good at mirroring what I was telling her to make sure she was understanding me. She said she will be reporting the difficulties to her superiors and will work at resolving them.

     4:17-4:56pm. Kai laid out the information regarding the purchase of gold and the questions I need to ask the merchants, as well as the names of two businesses for me to consult.

Old Towne Gold & Coin

24 East Cross Street

Ypsilanti

734.483.6155

The First Dollar

3000 Green Road, Unit 130018

Ann Arbor

734.864.6920

—Price of 24 carat gold in 1 oz. bars?

—When do you lock the price for a transaction?

—How to proceed with product---time?

—How long will it take to arrange the transaction?

—How do you accept payment?   [wire transfer, cashier’s check, cash]

—What form of invoice do you use?

—Do I pick up the gold from you or do you deliver it to my home?

Not surprisingly, I had to ask for clarification and explanation more than once and pointed out to Kai what he was omitting.

Tomorrow afternoon (Friday, 07.18.1015) I will call the two merchants.

—F 07.18.2025. At about 10:45am after returning from PT, I called Old Towne Gold& Coin. Spoke to one of the owners who consulted his partner, and they thought they could supply the product I want within a week. They said they would check with their suppliers and call me back in the afternoon, so I gave them my name and phone number.

     After finishing the first call, I called The First Dollar and spoke to Andrew the owner. He said he would check with his suppliers and thought it might take two weeks to obtain the product. Andrew asked me to send him an email with my contact information which I did. He replied at 1:45pm and included a proforma invoice. In his email he said he could provide the product within a week.

     Both businesses asked questions to make sure I was not involved in a scam or being pressured to make the purchase. (Little does he know the truth of the matter.) Both businesses, because of the size of the purchase, would require a wire transfer up front, at which time the price would be set.

     I sent Kai a text message with information about Old Towne Gold & Coin, and forwarded Andrew’s email with the information and invoice from The First Dollar.  Kai called around 2pm and we talked about the information from Old Towne, which was all I had at the time. He did a good job of mirroring what I told him, and we had a very civil conversation, much better than recent previous ones. He will call tomorrow, Sat. 7/19 at 12 noon.

     About 4:45pm, a woman called from Old Towne and asked me to come to the shop and get acquainted with them (more likely they want to get acquainted with me) and talk about putting together the purchase which will take 7 to 15 days. I was caught a bit off-guard but went ahead and made an appointment to visit Tuesday, 7/22 at 1pm.

—Sa 07.19.2025.

     12:00-12:22 Kai Nelson

     One of the merchants Kai contacted will be calling back: American United Precious Metal Solutions, 24300 Catherine Industrial Dr #405, Novi, MI 48375, hopefully by Monday. [near 10 Mile Rd.]

     I sent an email to Andrew at The First Dollar telling him I will be contacting him Monday, probably late in the day, to tell him how I will be moving forward.

     Kai says a wire transfer will cost $15-$20.

     We may be sending Amber the First Dollar proforma invoice on Monday.

     Kai will call at 4pm Monday, 7/21. I asked him to let Kai Gabriel at Microsoft what our schedule is.

—Su 07.20.2025. No calls.

—M 07.21.2025.

     10am appointment with attorney Mara Kent to sign my updated trust and other documents. Told Mara what I had been going through with the two Kai’s. She said this is not right.

12 noon went to Huntington Bank on Washtenaw and found out that Kai Nelson, Huntington Bank Headquarters; Valerie Clark, Senior Supervisor in the Fraud Prevention Department at Huntington Bank; and Adrian Walters, Huntington Fraud Prevention Department Manager do not exist at Huntington Bank.

1pm went to the Police Department in Superior Township at Prospect and Cherry Hill Roads where Deputy Samuel Michael took my information and a copy of this document to write a police report: Complaint #25-47253, which will be completed Tuesday or Wednesday, 7/22 or 23.

At 3:10pm called Andrew Kolbert to tell him I would not be buying gold and why. Emailed him a copy of this document to which he replied, “This is an astounding chain of events. From the moment you called the fake Microsoft number on the fake website, you have been dealing with a sophisticated ring of scammers.”

Called Old Towne Gold & Coin to cancel my appointment to see them in the store and told them why.

7pm Changed the password on my WiFi.

8:40pm Contacted USTech Support, a company with which I have subscriptions, and had them clean my computer to remove anything the scammers had left behind such as UltraViewer, and replace anything they had removed such as MyCleanID.

Found out that because of the MyCleanID subscription I can file a claim for reimbursement of what I have lost with American International Group, Contact number:  866-434-3572.

—T 07.22.2025.

     8:10am called American International Group. Gave basic information and will receive a Guide by email for steps I must complete to file a claim.