Elderly people with savings and pensions but weak awareness of prevention are easy targets for scammers. The latest annual report from the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) shows that in just 2023, older Americans aged 60 and above lost over $3.4 billion to scams.
Some alarming statistics from the report: in 2023, complaints of senior fraud received by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center increased by 14% compared to the previous year, with related losses rising by approximately 11%. On average, each elderly fraud victim lost $33,915.
Among various scam tactics, “tech support scams” were the most reported type of fraud by seniors in 2023: scammers impersonate technical or customer support personnel from banks, government agencies, and gradually swindle money from victims.
Other common schemes include “sweepstakes scams,” “investment fraud,” and “phishing.” Scammers even boldly send people to victims’ homes to collect cash.
On the afternoon of April 29, a 48-year-old Chinese man named Tai Su from West Covina, Los Angeles, was federally indicted for allegedly defrauding two elderly people. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. When arrested, he was at a victim’s residence attempting to collect $35,000 in fraudulent funds from the two elderly victims.
Tai Su was arrested in a carefully planned operation by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) the previous Friday. According to the sworn statement supporting the criminal charges, Su was part of this scam, which involved planting computer viruses, someone posing as service personnel who could assist victims, and someone posing as a federal agent.
The online scam began on April 23 when a victim opened an email and clicked on a link that activated malicious software, taking control of the victim’s computer. A phone number claiming to be “Microsoft customer support” then appeared on the screen. The victim called that number, and the person on the line informed the victim of a “hacking attack” and threatened that hackers had obtained their bank account information.
Later, the victim received another phone call from someone claiming to be a bank “fraud and risk investigator,” instructing the victim to withdraw $25,000 in cash and hand it over to the so-called “federal agent,” who would come to the victim’s home to collect the money. Later on April 23, two men posing as federal agents (one displayed a fake badge) arrived at the victim’s residence and took the cash.
Over the next two days, scammers continued to demand more cash from the victims, even instructing them to withdraw $10,000 from a bank branch.
On April 25, the U.S. Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents learned of the ongoing scam and planned a sting operation.
On April 26, in a series of calls with the scammers, the victims agreed to pay another $35,000 in cash but refused to deposit the money into a remote virtual wallet. Consequently, the scammers told the victims that a “federal officer” would be sent to their residence to collect the money.
At the appointed time, Tai Su arrived at the victim’s home, where an 86-year-old victim verified his identity, provided a password, and claimed to be from Coinbase, a U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. According to the affidavit, HSI agents then arrested Tai Su and found him carrying thousands of dollars in large-denomination cash.
The statutory maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud is 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI continues to remind everyone: never click on sudden pop-up windows, do not click on any links or attachments sent via text message or email; do not call the phone numbers provided in pop-ups, texts, or emails, do not download unknown software; if someone unfamiliar contacts you, do not disclose any personal information, do not transfer any money; do not allow strangers to remotely control your computer.
Furthermore, whether it is a bank or a government agency, they emphasize that they will never request anyone to send them money through wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or gift cards. ◇