The Spring Hill Police Department has made an arrest after a senior citizen lost nearly $250,000 in what authorities are calling an “elaborate scam.”
SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Spring Hill Police Department has made an arrest after a senior citizen lost nearly $250,000 in what authorities are calling an “elaborate scam.”
The incident reportedly unfolded mid-August of this year when a Spring Hill resident—identified as an 82-year-old woman— started experiencing issues with her YouTube TV account.
The woman told News 2 that she usually searches on Google for contact information for customer service and spoke with someone that she believed to be a real customer service agent.
After talking to the customer service department, the woman said her TV began working again. However, she added that those working for customer service told her that her bank accounts had been compromised.
The individuals on the other end of the phone allegedly led the woman to believe that they were working for the financial institution she banks with. She told News 2 they even claimed they were with the Department of Treasury and could issue receipts for the transactions she made.
According to police, the 82-year-old deposited “tens of thousands of dollars” into a Bitcoin account, which was suggested by the scammers.
Despite feeling uneasy, the woman said the men on the phone seemed to always have an answer, so she proceeded.
At some point during the interaction, the 82-year-old reportedly became reluctant to use Bitcoin to send more deposits, which led the men on the other end of the line to advise her to give money to their couriers, who were then sent to her home.
Spring Hill police said the interactions continued for weeks, resulting in the woman losing almost a quarter of a million dollars.
Authorities added the interactions may have continued if it wasn’t for the woman’s Franklin bank, who apparently noticed the victim was making large transactions that were out of the norm.
The bank contacted the Franklin Police Department who then contacted law enforcement in Spring Hill since that’s where the woman lived, officials said.
SHPD said they worked with victim to set up a string operation. On Oct. 3, the courier arrived at the victim’s home; however, this time police officers were waiting and immediately arrested him.
According to officials, the suspect was a Chinese national identified as 36-year-old Fang Yan.
Using a translation device, officers determined that Yan had flown from Ontario, Canada, to Seattle to Nashville.
From Nashville, Yan reportedly took an Uber to the woman’s home in Spring Hill with the intent of collecting $50,000.
A search of Yan’s backpack turned up a Chinese passport and receipts that included a six-pack of Heineken purchased in Washington state, police said.
Lt. Mike Foster with the SHPD told News 2 the suspect claimed he was a victim because he didn’t know what he was doing was wrong.
Foster said the suspect should have known what he was doing was very suspicious, though he added it is likely Yan was a “mule” who had limited information on what the leaders of the scam organization were doing.
Lt. Foster, who has worked many scam cases, said “Oftentimes we find people follow directions, if people would take a minute and step back and say, ‘Ok, why am I doing this?’ That would trigger a light bulb to go on and you stop doing it.”
In the end, the woman’s money is gone. Meanwhile, Yan is being held in the Maury County Jail on a $100,000 bond facing charges that include theft and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.
The police department urged residents to think about the following if someone asks you to do something with your money that is out of the ordinary:
Slow down — think about what is happening before you act.
Hang up on the call
Call someone that you trust
Call police
Call your banking institution ask them if the transaction is legitimate
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