San Diego, California – A Chinese national who posed as part of a fraudulent network targeting older Americans was sentenced last Monday in San Diego federal court to two years in prison. The case might have gone differently if not for the instincts of a 63-year-old Poway man who recognized the scam in real time and reported it to authorities.
Jiaci Liu, 30, had already served three months in state custody before the case was transferred to federal court last year. Investigators say he was a key player in a multinational conspiracy that preyed on older victims by posing as technical support specialists, bank representatives, and even government officials.
Court records describe how the scheme worked. While using his computer, the Poway victim saw a pop-up warning that his machine was infected with a virus and was told to call a phone number for help. On the line were conspirators masquerading as tech support agents. He was later transferred to another scammer claiming to be from his bank. The caller told him his account had been compromised and that he needed to withdraw all his money to protect it…