Thieves and scammers constantly come up with new ways to harm people. On August 17, the Irvine Police Department in California posted on Facebook, disclosing a case of fraud targeting the elderly.
Last week, a landlord in the Westpark community of Irvine discovered suspicious activity near a vacant rental property and immediately called for help.
Shortly after, a package was delivered to the doorstep of the vacant house by UPS, and the suspicious man quickly took the package. Fortunately, officers arrived in time and intercepted the 41-year-old suspect named Wang.
Investigators later found out that the package was sent by an elderly man from out of state. Previously, the victim received a phone call claiming to be from his bank, informing him that $9,000 had been “accidentally” deposited into his account and needed to be returned.
Unaware of the scam, the elderly man followed the scammer’s instructions and sent cash to the vacant house. When Wang from Georgia was arrested, he was found with over $30,000 in cash. He was subsequently detained in the Orange County Jail.
The Irvine Police Department urged the public to inform neighbors and family members about this incident. Police remind that banks will never call to ask you to return money to strangers by mailing cash.
Other cases of fraud using vacant houses:
In April of this year, an elderly woman in Minnesota received a call pretending to be from her grandson. The caller falsely claimed to have been in a serious car accident, detained by the police, and needed $10,000 to pay legal fees and retrieve the impounded car.
Following instructions, the elderly woman packaged $10,000 in cash and sent it via UPS to an address in Teaneck, New Jersey. After investigation, the address turned out to be a vacant house for sale.
Police deployed surveillance near the vacant house, and upon the package’s arrival, a man from New York drove up to collect the UPS package and was arrested by undercover detectives.
In the same month, an elderly woman in Connecticut fell victim to a scam and sent $14,500 in cash to a vacant home in Foster City, California.
Upon receiving the report, police intercepted the package containing cash, successfully retrieved the full $14,500, and returned it to the victim.
In the above cases, scammers do not need the victims to know the real recipient of the funds. They simply find an unoccupied residence to serve as a “delivery point” and arrange for a “pick-up person” to take the package after delivery. This method is not limited to cash scams.
On June 1, 2020, the Greenwich Police Department in Connecticut warned that criminals may steal someone’s identity to purchase goods, have the package delivered to a vacant house, and then take it once the delivery is made.
Local authorities advised residents to be cautious of any packages sent in their name that they did not order, as it may indicate identity theft and the use of residents’ homes as delivery points.
In May 2020, a local household received a package containing a pair of sneakers, with the order using the resident’s address, name, and bank account.
Police at the time stated that the department had noticed an increase in fake packages received by townspeople. Thieves would steal residents’ mail, obtain credit card information, make purchases, and take the goods before the homeowners noticed.
Thieves also steal identities to buy goods, ship them to vacant houses, and take them once the delivery is made.