A Lake Zurich woman was scammed out of more than $1.5 million over several months by someone posing as a law enforcement agent from China, police said.
The FBI warned about this scam last year, saying authorities were seeing increased reports of similar crimes around the country.
In the local case, the woman, who is Chinese, received calls from someone posing as a police officer from China conducting a criminal investigation, Lake Zurich Deputy Police Chief Colin Gaffney said Tuesday.
The caller continuously told the woman to wire money to various accounts in order to avoid prosecution. She did send money for a period of five months, with the total eventually reaching $1.58 million. The woman eventually went to Lake Zurich police on May 2 to report the fraud.
Gaffney said local police are working with the FBI on the investigation.
The FBI issued an advisory in April of 2023 warning that cybercriminals were targeting Chinese nationals in the U.S. by posing as police officers.
“Criminals exploit widely publicized efforts by the People’s Republic of China government to harass and facilitate the repatriation of individuals living in the United States to build plausibility for their fraud,” the FBI said. “Criminals typically call victims, sometimes using spoofed numbers to appear as if the call is from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, one of its localized Public Security Bureaus, or a U.S.-based Chinese Consulate.”
The criminals also sometimes use apps to show victims realistic-looking documents that mimic arrest warrants and other official forms, the agency said.
The FBI offers these tips to the public:
*If an unknown individual contacts you to accuse you of a crime, do not release any personal identifying information and do not send any money.
*Contact from an apparently official phone number is not proof of official action. Criminals may use technology to disguise the actual number they are calling from and make it appear as a trusted number.
*If you believe you have been contacted by individuals claiming to be a Chinese authority, contact your local FBI field office. Foreign government officials conducting legitimate law enforcement activity in the U.S. must act in coordination with federal authorities.
