Xiao Kun Cheung was indicted in Federal Court in Georgia on charges related to a tech support scam allegedly perpetrated by Cheung and co- conspirators targeting the elderly in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee in which seniors were contacted by phone or through pop-up messages on their computers informing them that their financial accounts had been compromised and that to protect their assets they needed to withdraw large sums of money, purchase gift cards or buy gold bars to deliver to the scammers who posed as federal agents for safekeeping.   Cheung, a previously deported Chinee national was arrested when he attempted to pick up approximately $132,000 in gold bars from a scam victim in Georgia.

TIPS

Primary in this scam is the scammer posing as a law enforcement or government agent who under a variety of pretenses manipulates the victim into doing as they are told.  Scam victims often trust scammers posing as authority figures.  The scam may also seem more believable when the initial phone call appears to come from a legitimate law enforcement agent or other governmental official because the scammer uses “spoofing’ to manipulate the victim’s Caller ID to make the call look as if it indeed is coming from a legitimate source.  Imposter scams are among the most common scams.

The truth is that under no circumstances will a government agent or law enforcement officer ever tell anyone to withdraw funds from their accounts in put them into a “safe government account.”

Scammers are aware that scaring people with phony emergencies triggers the amygdala which is a part of the brain also called the lizard brain which makes us act quickly and emotionally without rationally considering the situation which is why so many people are able to be victimized by scams like this.  It is for this reason that whenever you are asked to make a payment in response to some emergency, you should take your time and analyze the situation and confirm the legitimacy of the emergency.

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