James Yancy said his 67-year-old father had hinted he was "going through something" that he couldn't talk about before finally opening up on Halloween.
Yancy's dad gestured to his phone, "kind of giving me the impression that he thought he was being listened to or watched," the 33-year-old recalled. Outside, away from cellphones, his father told Yancy that his identity had been stolen and that the FBI and IRS were working with him to protect his life savings.
Yancy's father had liquidated his accounts − amounting to about $400,000 − and transferred the cash into gift cards, bitcoin and gold.
Yancy knew immediately it was a scam.
The scammers, fronting as federal agents, took the gift cards and bitcoin in advance and picked up the gold in person, telling his dad that once the identity thieves were found, they would return his money via check.
