Two 21-year-old suspects were arrested Tuesday after sheriff’s deputies intervened in what authorities described as an attempted scam targeting an elderly Santa Barbara resident for tens of thousands of dollars.
According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, the case came to light around 11:30 a.m. on February 24, when deputies responded to a call regarding a suspected fraud scheme already in motion.
The victim reported that the previous evening she had withdrawn $25,000 in cash and handed it to a courier she believed to be a Deputy U.S. Marshal. The caller had told her that her Social Security number and other personal identifying information had been compromised and that immediate payment was required to prevent further harm.
The following day, the suspects allegedly contacted her again, demanding an additional $25,000. The caller “instructed her to provide a financial payment and implied adverse consequences if payment was not provided,” the Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release…