🔴 A grandmother was tricked into mailing $10,000 cash to a NJ address after scammers posed as her grandson in trouble.
📦 Teaneck detectives staked out a vacant home and arrested a New York man as he picked up the UPS package.
⚠️ Police warn NJ seniors about the growing “grandparent scam” targeting elderly victims with panic and fake emergencies.
TEANECK — Police in one Bergen County township are warning seniors about the so-called “grandparent scam.” It’s an attempt to con the elderly out of their savings by getting them to think that one of their grandchildren is in trouble.
How the “grandparent scam” tricked a Bergen County senior
Last month, the Teaneck Police Department received a call from the Shakopee Police Department in Minnesota regarding a scam that occurred within their jurisdiction.
According to investigators, a resident received a call from someone posing as her grandson. The caller claimed that he and a friend were in a car accident and needed $10,000 for legal fees and to retrieve their car from the impound lot.
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The grandmother was instructed to send ten grand in cash via UPS overnight delivery. She was also told to wrap the cash in a way so UPS could not detect it. It turns out the money was being sent to a vacant house in Teaneck that was listed for sale, police said.
Teaneck police stake out vacant home tied to scam package
An investigation was immediately launched. After detectives confirmed with UPS that the package had not yet been delivered to the house, they set up surveillance at the location and waited.
A man, later identified as Zhenye Chen, 20, of Bellerose, New York, showed up at the house. He picked up the package from the front steps, and as he returned to his car, detectives placed him under arrest.
Police recover cash, drugs and fake ID during Bergen County arrest
Detectives said they also found suspected cocaine and controlled dangerous substance paraphernalia on Chen. A search of his vehicle also led to the recovery of $10,100, believed to be proceeds from theft and/or money laundering activities, along with a fake Connecticut driver’s license. They also found the victim’s $10,000 from the UPS package.
NJ investigators link suspect to another elderly fraud case
Chen was also linked to another package theft and fraud investigation that occurred in early April, Teaneck police confirmed. In that incident, police say a victim from Missouri mailed $4,000 to an address in Teaneck after being tricked into believing her bank account had been compromised…