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Scammers who claimed to be Chinese law enforcement officials stole millions of dollars from Bellevue residents in recent months, with one person wiring as much as over $1 million to the fraudsters, Bellevue police said Wednesday.
Young people were targeted for their economic status, Bellevue police said. In its blog post, the department mentioned four cases since December in particular where people aged 25 to 36 wired sums of money ranging between $315,800 and over $1 million.
Contacted by phone or online, victims were told they were unknowingly participating in a fraud scheme, identity theft or a major crime incident that happened overseas or in large American cities.
The scammers demanded the victims send them sensitive identification documents including social security numbers, copies of passports, tax forms and fingerprint scans, police said. Scammers told the victims they had to send large sums of money to prevent being arrested in connection to the fabricated crimes or having their assets frozen.
One 31-year-old woman was told to send her location and activities in three-hour increments, while a 33-year-old woman was told to open bank and cryptocurrency accounts to wire funds or be arrested, police said. A 25-year-old man took several calls from a scammer and even a Skype video call that he later believed was created with artificial intelligence.
If someone online asks you to pay a sum of money to avoid being arrested in connection to a major crime, that person is trying to scam you, authorities say.
In recent weeks, a phishing text message scam targeted drivers in Washington and across the nation, with fraudsters claiming to be from the state’s and Seattle’s “Department of Motor Vehicles” — two agencies that don’t exist. They directed their targets to pay a fine through sites that mimic the website addresses for real state agencies or be slapped with a variety of fake consequences.
Bellevue police recommend several ways to avoid being scammed. Look out for these red flags if someone:
* Tries to use social media to gain your trust
* Pretends to be from an organization that you know
* Says there’s a problem or a prize
* Pressures you to act immediately
* Tells you to pay in a specific way
* Tells you not to call police
If you believe you’re being targeted in a scam, call Bellevue police at 425-577-5656 or report it on the FBI's tip line at www.ic3.gov.
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