If a Caller Tells You To Withdraw Cash and Mail It, Stop There
Federal prosecutors described a fresh elder-fraud case on June 30 involving scammers who posed as tech support, government workers, or bank employees and then told victims to mail large amounts of cash. If anyone tells you to hide cash in a package and send it, treat that as a scam.
Federal prosecutors said on June 30, 2026 that a large fraud ring targeted older adults by pretending to be tech support agents, government officials, or bank employees. After scaring victims, the scammers allegedly told them to withdraw large amounts of cash, hide the money in packages, and send those packages by express mail to fake names and short-term rental addresses.
This matters because the trick is designed to feel official and urgent. A caller may say your computer is compromised, your bank account is at risk, or a government problem must be fixed immediately. The goal is to push you into acting before you stop to think. Once cash is mailed, it is much harder to recover than a credit-card charge.
What to do: if anyone on the phone tells you to withdraw cash, buy gold, or mail money in a box, hang up. Do not keep talking to “supervisors,” “fraud departments,” or “federal agents.” Call your bank or the agency yourself using a number you look up independently. If you already sent a package, contact the mail carrier immediately and report the fraud to local police and the FTC.
The simple rule is this: no real bank, government office, or tech company will tell you to solve a problem by stuffing cash into a package.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California