MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies in Marion County said a man was arrested after scamming an elderly resident out of thousands of dollars.
Jiang Jingcai was charged Thursday with fraud, with an enhancement due to the victim being over 65 years old, and the use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
Investigators said the scam began on Tuesday, when the victim received a pop-up message on his iPad instructing him to call a phone number to verify that his device had not been compromised.
After calling the number, the victim was contacted by a woman identifying herself as “Sydney,” who claimed to be from the investigations division of his bank.
She instructed the victim to purchase $4,000 in gift cards and mail them to different addresses to prevent further compromise of his personal information.
The victim requested documentation of the investigation, and “Sydney” provided fake documents on counterfeit letterhead. Following these instructions, the victim purchased the gift cards.
Deputies said “Sydney” contacted the victim again on Wednesday, instructing him to withdraw $15,000 in cash and place it in a box for an ‘agent’ to collect.
The victim reported the scam to the authorities, who then set up a sting operation.
Detectives from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office were present at the victim’s home when Jingcai arrived to collect the cash.
He was arrested without incident and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
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