Warning: Scammers Are Sending Couriers to Your Door to Steal Cash

The FBI is warning about a scam where someone you met online sends a stranger to your home to pick up cash. This scam most often targets seniors.

Here is how it works. A scammer contacts you online - through social media, a text message, or a dating app. They build a friendship or romantic relationship over weeks or months. Eventually they suggest investing together in cryptocurrency and show you a website where your "investment" appears to be growing.

When you try to take your money out, they tell you there is a problem - a fee, a fine, or a frozen account. They say the only way to fix it is to pay in cash. They send someone to your door to pick it up. That person arrives with a secret password or a specific dollar bill serial number to prove they are "from the company."

Once they take your cash, it is gone. The investment was never real.

This is a scam

No legitimate investment company sends someone to your home to collect cash. If this happens to you or someone you know, do not hand over anything.

What to do

• If someone you met online is managing your investments, stop and talk to a family member or trusted friend before doing anything else.
• If a courier shows up at your door, do not open the door. Call 911.
• Before sending money to any investment platform or financial professional, check that the person or company is licensed with DFI.

Report it

The sooner you report, the better the chance of stopping the fraud and recovering funds.

• Washington DFI: File a complaint or call 1-877-746-4334
• FBI: www.ic3.gov - include any names, phone numbers, websites, apps, and account numbers
• Seniors aged 60 and over can also call the DOJ Elder Justice Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311)