Prince George’s County police arrested two men accused of impersonating federal or local law enforcement agents or an IT specialist and defrauding victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In April, a victim received a call from an unknown number warning them that their Apple ID was used to make unauthorized purchases, police said. But that was a lie by suspects impersonating Federal Trade Commission agents.
They convinced the victim that several of her accounts were compromised, police said.
“They prey on persons that, really, in many instances are very responsible, so if someone texts you and says, you know, if you don’t pay this money immediately, then your license is going to be suspended, and so most of us that are responsible don’t want our license suspended,” acting Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson said.
The suspects instructed the victim to withdraw more than $62,000 from her bank to avoid additional issues, police said. They showed up at her front door and collected the cash.
The victim contacted police in May after the scammers called her back asking for an additional $24,000, investigators said.
“One week later on May 23, two suspects were apprehended and arrested in Prince George’s County,” Assistant Cmdr. Paul Gambardella said.
Zheng Hui Xie of California and Jianwei Wang of New York pretended to be federal agents and showed up at the victims’ homes to collect money, police said.
In total, at least three victims lost about $700,000, police said.
“The reason they are successful is because they prey on people who wouldn’t normally think that a fraud is taking place, which was why the primary age of our victims are older,” Gambardella said.
The suspects called from known and unknown numbers, county leaders said.
“Fraud and theft are not just financial crimes,” Jackson said. “These crimes are deeply personal and oftentimes embarrassing. They violate people’s trust, their financial stability and overall sense of safety.”
Scams cost Prince George’s County victims more than $2.9 million so far this year, police said. That figure is from reported cases.
Residents who believe they are the victim of a scam should call police at 301-516-1464.
And follow these best practices:
- Call your financial institution directly.
- Call the number on the back of your bank card.
- Go the bank in person.
- Hang up the phone if someone asks you to move your money to a separate account or gift card.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)