LARCHMONT, New York (WABC) — A frightening phone scam targeting a 75-year-old victim in Westchester County was stopped in its tracks by police, who arrested the suspects earlier this week.
Dramatic body camera footage shows Monday’s arrests, with one suspect pinned to the ground, and the other pulled out of a waiting getaway car.
It was a part of a sting operation coordinated by Larchmont police to catch two alleged scammers targeting a 75-year-old woman.
“Most of the time, unfortunately, these criminals get away with this,” said Larchmont Police Department Chief Chris McNerney. “These are not random crimes. These are people who specifically target the elderly because they think they’re vulnerable.”
The victim doesn’t want to be identified, but on Monday afternoon, she got a pop-up on her iPhone telling her to call Apple support from a different line. The woman was told her bank accounts had been compromised.
“I assumed because I talked to Apple support, and they also gave me names, that this was correct,” the victim said.
The victim was told to withdraw $25,000, which she did. The caller told her someone would come to her house to pick it up.
“I was a little suspicious of it, but I figured I still had the money, so they didn’t have it yet,” she said.
So, she went to a neighbor and asked her to contact the police.
“I was really worried. I know people who’ve had fraud happen, and I was really concerned,” said the victim’s neighbor, Claudia Huter. “I didn’t want to see her hurt or lose money. So, I was really excited that the police jumped in right away.”
Police guided the victim through subsequent phone calls to arrange the pickup, though they weren’t sure it would actually happen.
“Initially it was 7:00, then it was 7:30, then it was, you know, ‘oh, we’re just a few minutes away.’ And it kept getting longer and longer,” Lt. Joe Paprota of the Larchmont Police Department.
Finally, police say Qin Lin of Staten Island picked up the cash, while Zhonglin Luo allegedly waited in the car. That’s when cops moved in.
“Once we got the word, we all converged,” said Sgt. Daniel Hammond. “It was a successful arrest. We took two in custody, and it was a good day.”
“Unfortunately, I’ve worked other cases where, you know, unfortunately, the victim does give money, and you don’t get a hold of the perpetrator,” said Det. Michael Genkerell.
The victim said she’s happy she went to the police before it was too late.
“I’m happy I did it,” she said. “And I hope some people can understand what I did and be careful about it.”
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