PITTSBURGH — Two California residents are facing charges for an Amazon scam that targeted an older woman in Allegheny County, police say.
The Allegheny County Police Department says this fraud investigation began on Nov. 21 after a 71-year-old woman in Crafton came to police about a Nov. 19 call from people claiming to be from the “Amazon Fraud Department.” Court documents state the victim was reportedly told her profile was used to open 13 financial accounts linked to more than $360,000 in illegal purchases of firearms, narcotics and pornography. She was then told she needed to “rectify” the situation and follow the caller’s instructions, or she could be held criminally liable.
Police say the callers identified themselves as federal law enforcement officials and they coerced the woman to take out money from her bank account and to tell no one about the situation, to avoid “tipping off” the people responsible for hacking her Amazon account.
Once the scammers learned identifying information about the victim, court documents said they started asking about the money she had at her disposal. Once she disclosed she had $115,000 in her bank account, she was told she must “deplete the account in its entirety to protect it,” by removing money in $30,000 increments and different PNC branches across the Pittsburgh region.
The plan to remove $30,000 at a time didn’t work, court documents said. The scammers then told her to obtain a cashier’s check and use it to purchase gold that could be given to the alleged federal officers. She was told that once she turned over the gold, she would be given a check to open a new account.
Court documents state the woman transferred $97,400 from her account to purchase 35 ounces of gold coins. Once the purchase was made, she remained in contact with the scammers who tried to set up a time to pick up the coins and sent her false law enforcement credentials.
On Nov. 22, ACPD detectives and the FBI worked with the victim in an operation to target the scammers, ultimately leading to their arrest in the parking lot of a Pittsburgh Giant Eagle.
ACPD identifies the suspected scammers as Shuai Jiao, 34, and Daxue Yang, 35, both of California. The pair are facing multiple charges, including theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and financial exploitation of an older adult. Both have been arraigned and are being held at the Allegheny County Jail without bail.
Court documents state the pair have no ties to the Pittsburgh region.
With the holidays approaching, ACPD wants the community to be alert for possible scams. Click here to see scam warning signs.
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