OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A 74-year-old Ocala woman nearly lost her entire life savings to a fraud scheme.
The Ocala Police Department (OPD) says a joint investigation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) out of Tampa stopped the scam and led to the arrest of 42-year-old Weikai Zhang.
The Investigation
On Tuesday, July 9, authorities say HSI received a tip about an Asian call center scam targeting an elderly Marion County woman.
Police say the scammers posed as representatives from a call center, convinced the victim that her computer had a virus and that they could help fix it. Investigators say the scammers gained control of her financial information and persuaded her to liquidate her life savings of $500,000 into gold, which was sold through a broker who shipped six kilos of gold.
Around 11:30 a.m., police say FedEx delivered multiple boxes to the victim’s residence. Around the same time, special agents also arrived at her residence to inform her about the scam.
Later, investigators say the scammers contacted the victim to verify the arrival of the parcels and notified her that a courier was on the way to secure the gold.
Around 3 p.m., law enforcement noticed a suspicious van near the victim’s neighborhood. They say the van, registered to Zhang, had expired tags, and Zhang’s license had been suspended since 2022.
Police say when they intercepted Zhang at 9676 SW 62nd Loop in the parking lot to the Stone Creek Golf Club, he was on the phone and using GPS to navigate to the victim’s home.
Authorities say during the arrest, they had to enlist the help of an interpreter because Zhang’s primary language is Mandarin.
OPD says Zhang has been charged with organized fraud. His bond was set at $61,000 which was posted. He was released from the jail on Wednesday evening.
Scam Prevention
Authorities say con artists are always finding new ways to trick people out of their money through phone calls, texts, and pop-ups on their devices. These scams aim to create panic and confusion to steal money.
They warn you to be cautious of pop-ups that ask you to call a 1-800 number, as these often lead to overseas call centers where scammers try to steal personal or financial information.
Always be careful when giving personal information over the phone and report any suspicious activity to the police right away.
They say don’t hesitate to hang up.
And they encourage you to talk to family members and friends – especially elderly ones – so they can protect themselves.