FRIENDSWOOD — Friendswood police are warning the public after two elderly residents were scammed out of large sums of money in separate incidents involving fraudulent gold pickups.

In the first case, police said an elderly victim lost over $500,000 after responding to an email in September 2025 regarding fraudulent charges to their bank account. The victim was instructed to communicate with the scammers through WhatsApp and was told that multiple bank accounts had been opened using their personal information. The victim was then advised to withdraw all funds from their accounts, convert the money to gold, and deliver it to a designated pickup point. After the gold was collected, the victim’s attempts to follow up via WhatsApp went unanswered, and they realized they had been scammed.

In a second incident on September 22, 2025, another elderly resident reported receiving a pop-up notification on their computer warning of a virus. The victim called the number provided, and the caller claimed the victim’s bank account had been hacked. Similar to the first case, the victim was directed to withdraw funds, convert them to gold, and deliver it to a pickup location. The victim was initially scammed out of more than $30,000 before realizing the fraud during a subsequent exchange at a gold store, where an employee’s questions raised red flags.

Authorities said the local collection of the gold suggests there may be additional victims in surrounding areas. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Friendswood Police Department at 281-996-3300.