BEL AIR — Two Chinese nationals living in New York have been arrested and charged in connection with an elaborate scam that tricked an 87-year-old Bel Air resident into personally delivering a package of cash using a secret code word.
According to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Chongsong Chen, 48, and Wei Hua Wong, 71, were taken into custody during a coordinated sting operation involving the elderly victim. Authorities recovered the cash and multiple cellphones believed to be tied to the scheme.
The pair face felony charges of theft between $1,500 and $25,000 and a theft scheme of the same amount, along with two misdemeanor charges. Both posted $5,000 cash bonds on June 20.
The scam began on June 18 when the victim received a fake pop-up message on her computer warning that her device had been hacked. When she called the listed number, scammers convinced her that her bank accounts were compromised and told her to withdraw a large sum of cash, package it, and deliver it in person using a prearranged code word.
“This case is part of a growing trend of financial scams that target older adults — many of which exploit trust, urgency or fear,” the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities also referenced a similar case from August in Carroll County where two other Chinese nationals were convicted for defrauding a 62-year-old woman through fake PayPal messages and in-person cash pickups.
Harford County detectives say the investigation is ongoing, with more leads being pursued in connection to this type of fraud.
The sheriff’s office urged residents to be vigilant: never respond to pop-up messages, provide financial details to unknown callers, or send money based on unsolicited instructions. Suspicious requests for payment via Bitcoin, prepaid cards, or cash handoffs should always raise red flags.
