LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A New York man is accused of stealing gold bars worth over half a million dollars from a resident in Lancaster County, Pa., using a scam that authorities say is becoming increasingly common nationwide.

The victim, described as an elderly woman by police in Ephrata, contacted authorities in April to report that someone stole $555,892 worth of gold bars.

Investigators said that the suspect, 44-year-old Zhong Ren, of Brooklyn, N.Y., first gained access to the woman's computer in March.

Ren allegedly convinced her that someone was trying to access her life savings, and the only way to keep the money safe was to convert it into gold bars and turn them over to federal employees.

These supposed federal employees would purportedly keep the gold safe in Philadelphia's Federal Reserve vault.