A Palm Coast woman handed over $120,000 in cash, investigators say, after scammers convinced her to call a bogus tech-support number and deliver bundles of money to a courier waiting in supermarket parking lots. The scheme involved two large handoffs, one at a Publix and another at a Palm Coast Walmart, before the victim grew suspicious and contacted deputies. Detectives later tracked the courier to Orlando and arrested him in Orange County.
How the scam worked
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the victim first saw a pop-up on her computer on Dec. 9, 2025, telling her to call a customer-support number. The caller claimed her computer and bank accounts had been hacked and instructed her to withdraw roughly $60,000 from her Chase account and hand it to a courier waiting in a Publix parking lot. The next day, the same script led to another $60,000 cash drop at a Palm Coast Walmart.
Investigation and sheriff’s response
Surveillance footage and phone-location data placed the courier and his vehicle at both exchanges, investigators say, and detectives followed a trail of suspicious deposits and withdrawals in the suspect’s bank records. Detectives identified the courier as 20-year-old Steven Mercado of Orlando and obtained arrest warrants. “This scammer had no shame, swindling over $100,000 from a senior,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in the office’s release.
Arrest, charges and the wider money trail
Mercado was arrested during a traffic stop in Orange County on March 6 and was booked on organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, authorities reported. He was later released on a $23,500 bond. Detectives also traced wire transfers and other transactions that may link Mercado to additional victims, including a person in Durham, North Carolina, who lost more than $37,000, as reported by ClickOrlando.
Why seniors are targeted
Tech-support popups and so-called “phantom hacker” scripts remain a top tactic for criminals preying on older adults; IC3’s 2023 Elder Fraud Report found reported losses to seniors topped $3.4 billion and complaints rose year over year. Scammers rely on urgency and fear to push victims into moving cash before family or banks can intervene, and the use of a human courier is a common escalation that makes recovery much harder. That pattern helped detectives connect the drops in this case to a single suspect…