Two men from Brooklyn, Shaoquin Liu, 27, and Shiwang Ning, 33, have been arrested for allegedly defrauding a senior citizen in Quincy, Massachusetts, out of more than $120,000 through a tech support scam, according to officials.
The Quincy Police Department reported that the suspects were apprehended on Thursday while allegedly attempting to collect more cash from the victim. Authorities revealed that the men had posed as representatives of the victim’s financial institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) through falsified emails and phone calls.
Court documents show that both Liu and Ning are charged with one count of larceny and two charges of fraud. Their legal representation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Police stated that the scam began when the elderly victim received a notification on their computer, warning them they had been “locked out.” The notification provided a phone number to call for assistance. When the victim contacted the number, an unidentified woman allegedly claimed to be from the FDIC and informed the victim of suspicious activity on their bank account.
The scam then escalated as the woman convinced the victim to withdraw large sums of money from their bank account under the guise of safeguarding the funds. The victim handed over the cash to individuals who came by their house multiple times. Police said the suspects also accessed the victim’s computer remotely, stealing private financial information that allowed them to pose as financial institutions and siphon even more money.
As the scam continued, the victim grew suspicious and eventually reached out to Quincy police, leading to the arrests.
Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy praised the detectives involved in the case and emphasized the department’s commitment to educating the senior population about scams and online fraud, stating, “I am happy that these two criminals were arrested by our detectives, and our department will intensify our efforts to educate our city’s senior population about these scams and web-based fraud.”
