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What investigators say happened
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Officials in Maryland announced that an ongoing fraud probe led them to a transnational scheme in which overseas callers tricked Americans into moving their savings into gold bars or similar assets, then stole the proceeds.
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The operation allegedly relied on high‑pressure phone tactics and sophisticated scripts to convince victims they were protecting their money from supposed government action or bank problems.
Scope of the losses
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Authorities estimate that the gold bar scam brought in almost 50 million dollars from more than 600 victims nationwide, much of it routed through wire transfers, cryptocurrency, and physical gold purchases.
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Maryland officials have described the case as part of a broader pattern of large‑scale financial fraud that exploits residents across multiple states, not just Maryland.
Role of the Indian call centers
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Three India‑based call centers have been identified as key hubs for the scheme, handling outreach to victims and coordinating instructions on how to move their money.
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U.S. and Maryland authorities worked with counterparts in India to shut down these centers as part of the probe, highlighting increased cross‑border cooperation on scam operations.
Law enforcement response
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State and federal agencies, including the FBI’s Baltimore field office, are pursuing criminal charges and asset recovery, and have emphasized that dismantling the call centers was a major step but that the wider investigation is continuing.
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Officials are urging potential victims to report suspicious calls—especially those demanding urgent transfers into gold, crypto, or wire payments—so investigators can identify additional losses linked to the same network.




