Authorities say he was attempting to scam a woman out of her money.
Wang Fangzheng (Photo from Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
Hagerstown, Md (KM) A New York man was arrested in Washington County, Maryland for attempting to scam a woman out of her money. Wang Fangzheng, 23, was taken into custody on Thursday. He’s currently being held at the Washington County Detention Center without bond.
The Sheriff’s Office says it received notification on August 9th, 2024 about a suspect collecting large amounts of money from a victim in Hagerstown.
It all began in July when the victim received a message on her tablet that one of her accounts had been hacked. The victim called the supplied number on the notification, and became involved in a sophisticated scam designed to cheat her out of thousands of dollars., the Sheriff’s Office says.
She arranged for a large amount of money to be transferred to an international bank and a cash transaction with a person claiming to be a federal law enforcement officer.
The victim contacted the Sheriff’s Office when she realized she was being scammed. Personnel with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit and the Digital Investigations Forensic Unit began an investigation.
While the case was under investigation, the suspect arranged for another cash exchange on Thursday, August 15th. . The suspect identified as Wang showed up at the victim’s house expecting to receive $15,000. . But instead he was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office and his car was impounded.
The Sheriff’s Office says there are four signs that can identify a scam. One is that scammers pretend to be from an organization you know. It could be a government agency such as the Federal trade Commission (FTC), Social Security Administration, the IRS, Medicare or even a made up name that sounds official. It could also be a business you know such as a utility company, a tech company or a charity looking for donations. These scammers can use a technology to change the phone number on your caller ID so the name and number might not be real.
These scammers can also say there is problem or a prize. They could say you are in trouble with the government , or you owe money or someone in your family has had an emergency; or there’s a virus in your computer. These individuals could say there’s a problem with one of your accounts, and they need to verify some information. In some instances, they could say you have won money in a lottery or a sweepstakes and you need to pay a fee to collect your winnings.
Scammers will also try to pressure you into making a decision immediately rather than giving you time to think about it. They also may tell you not to hang up the phone so you can’t check out their story. If you hesitate, these scammers could threaten to sue you, take away your driver’s license or your business license, or deport you. They could also say your computer is about to be corrupted.
These scammers also want you to pay in a specific way. It can be through crytocurrency, wiring money through a company like MoneyGram, or Western Union, or using a payment app. Other ways could be putting money on a gift card, and giving them the numbers on the back of the card. Some scammers will send you a check which might turn out to be fake, and tell you to deposit it and send them the money.,
For more information on how to avoid scams, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website at https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam.
By Kevin McManus