2 Suspects Arrested In Connection To Carrier Scam Costing Victims $740K

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Two men have been arrested in connection to carrier scams where the victims gave large amounts of money and gold bars to scammers posing as carriers.

In the first case, detectives arrested 25-year-old Parmveer Parmveer of Grove City, Ohio. He’s been charged in connection to a scam that originated as a pop-up alert on the victim’s laptop urging the victim to contact Apple security using a number provided. Multiple scammers communicated with victims by posing as security personnel and also a representative from the Federal Trade Commission, according to Prince George's County Police.

The scammers convinced the victims their money was not secure and to withdraw cash from their bank account and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM. The scammers also convinced the victims to take out more money and purchase gold from a local dealer. Scammers then arranged for a carrier to pick up the gold from the victim’s home multiple times. Detectives were able to arrest Parmveer when he went to a home for one of the arranged pickups. The victims in this case were defrauded of nearly $700,000 dollars in cash and gold bars, the police department stated.

In a similar, but unrelated case, detectives charged 47-year-old Gyoung Lee of Flushing, New York. This case also started when the victim received a pop-up on his computer advising him to contact Microsoft Support to discuss a security issue using a provided number. The scammers posed as a tech support agent as well as a representative from the U.S. Treasury Department, the police department stated.

In order to secure his money, the victim was convinced to make multiple cash withdrawals from his bank account and to then hand over the money to a carrier who picked up the cash from his home. Investigators arrested Lee when he arrived at the victim’s home to pick up cash. This victim lost $40,000 to the scammers, according to the police department.

"The PGPD reminds all residents to never give money, gold, gift cards or anything else of value to someone you do not know, even if they are posing as representatives from legitimate businesses, banking institutions or government agencies. If you are worried about security issues on your computer, contact the company managing your software directly or your anti-virus software company. You should also contact your bank if necessary using the number on the back of your bank card," the police department stated.

If you believe you have been the victim of a scam, call PGPD detectives at 301-516-1464.