The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said that when the scammer came to get the money, he was caught. The scammer was from the Bay Area and was trying to steal thousands of dollars from a woman in Grass Valley.
A man from San Francisco named Qi Lin, who is 39 years old, was caught on Friday for his part in a phone scam plot.
The Grass Valley sheriff’s office said that on Thursday, a “unsuspecting elderly woman” got a message on her frozen computer that looked like a Microsoft Windows error and gave her a phone number to call for help, but it was a scam.
Officials say the victim called the number and let the person who answered use her computer from afar. The con artist told her that her computer had been hacked and showed signs of illegal behaviour. He then put her in touch with two more people, one who was a fake bank security officer and the other a fake federal agent.
Police in the sheriff’s office said the scam got worse until the victim was persuaded to take $32,000 out of her bank account to stop “criminal activity” on it.
The victim thankfully talked to a family member before giving the money, and the family member told her to call the sheriff’s office.
The money was supposed to be given on Friday, so agents and deputies from the sheriff’s office went to the victim’s house to catch the con artist.
Officials say that’s when Lin showed up to get the money. He was caught and taken to the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on charges of attempted grand theft, getting money by lying, planning to commit a crime, and elder theft. The amount of bail set for him is $500,000.
The sheriff’s office said that a similar scam happened over the summer, and another person lost $12,000.
“It is our hope this latest scam attempt serves as an ongoing reminder of the seriousness of scams and the importance of checking in with your family and loved ones anytime something urgent or time-sensitive comes up involving money,” Shannan Moon said in a statement. “When in doubt, always call authorities.”
If you live in Nevada County and think you’ve been scammed, call the Nevada County Regional Dispatch Centre at 530-265-7880.
