NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Two scammers were arrested on Monday for tricking an 83-year-old man into handing over $30,000 in January, according to Nassau County police.
The victim received a notification on his computer on Jan. 18, at around 1 p.m. stating that his device had been compromised and that he needed to call the number on the computer screen for assistance, according to police.
The man then dialed the number displayed on the screen, and the scammer claimed to be an employee from Microsoft. He informed the victim of suspicious activity detected on the victim’s phone and personal bank account.
The scammer then asked the victim to withdraw $16,000 in cash to resolve the issue. The victim complied, and the next day, an unidentified man arrived at his door to collect the funds.
The victim was contacted again and asked to withdraw $15,000 in cash, which he did.
The next day on Jan. 20 an unidentified man arrived to collect the money.
The victim was then contacted a third time but this time refused to comply and called the police.
Following an investigation, detectives arrested Rong Chen, 47, and ZhenSheng Yu, 46, on Monday.
Both are charged with grand larceny.
Chen was arraigned on Monday and Yu will be arraigned on Tuesday.