Video above by Nexstar Media Wire shows how to tell if a phone call is a scam before picking up.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A man who was arrested for his involvement in a series of scams targeting the elderly will appear before a San Diego judge in federal court next week.
Jiaci Liu, 34, of Monterey Park was charged last year after he was arrested for his role in scams targeting seniors, including a 63-year-old man from Poway.
Authorities learned of the fraud scheme after the victim notified the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department that he had been scammed.
The victim told officials he had come across a pop-up window on his personal computer that directed him to contact a phone number. After calling the number, the victim spoke with different people pretending to work in tech support, authorities stated.
The victim was told to go to the bank and withdraw $28,000. He was then told that someone from the U.S. Marshals Service would come to his house to pick up the money.
The man called the sheriff’s department who directed him to contact them again if someone showed up to pick up the money.
On June 9, 2023, Liu showed up at the victim’s home in Poway, authorities said. The victim called law enforcement who arrived to the residence and seized and searched Liu’s cellphone.
Investigators learned that in just one week in June 2023, Liu had picked up more than $348,000 from different people located throughout Southern California and Phoenix, Arizona.
On May 22, 2024, he was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and criminal forfeiture, which carry the maximum penalties of 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines.
Liu’s sentencing is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 22 at 8:30 a.m. at the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse, located at 221 W. Broadway.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
