CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater woman fell victim to a scheme where she lost more than $100,000.
The Clearwater Police Department said two men have been arrested in connection to the scheme but officers think there could be more victims.
The woman, who’s in her 70s, answered the phone one day and never expected what would happen.
“It wasn’t the right choice, I don’t know what happened to me, where I lost my scruples,” the victim said.
She asked NewsNation affiliate WFLA not to show her face or share her name but said she ended up losing $113,760 to the scheme.
“It’s tragic, I can’t believe this still goes on today, but people don’t realize it and they have to know,” she said.
According to investigators, the scam began when an unidentified man with an accent pretended to be a U.S. Department of Treasury agent who told the victim her bank account was being attacked and claimed he would help her.
The two men, Xin Sun and Huisheng He, were both arrested and charged with scheme to defraud for $50,000 or more.
Police said the two men were going to the victim’s house and pressuring her to pay the money.
“Normally, they’ll try and do something a little bit more high-tech involved, with a computer, or making a deposit into an account, or something. Simply showing up to her house is very brazen,” Clearwater Public Information Officer Rob Shaw said.
Three different transactions were made — one where they had the woman withdraw and deposit $17,760 into Bitcoin.
During the two other instances, investigators said the woman was asked to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars, and a so-called “mule” was sent to her house who then gave the woman a secret code to get the money.
The woman said she met the mules face-to-face.
“Only the ‘mules’ so to speak, I never saw this guy’s face who I was talking to on the phone, never,” she said.
Clearwater Police said this is a sad situation that could happen to anyone, but it can be avoided.
“Nobody from a government agency will ever call you and ask you for cash. Nobody from a government agency is going to come knock on your door or demand cash from you, or Bitcoin, or a gift card,” Shaw said.
Police also said to not answer the phone if you don’t recognize the number.
According to officials, the two men made their last scheme against the woman on Aug. 8.
“They went back to her a second time, a third time, and a fourth time seeking more money. Thankfully, on that fourth time, we were able to catch them red-handed and arrest them,” Shaw said.
CPD said if you recognize the men, or the scheme, to please contact them immediately.
