After allegedly defrauding a senior citizen in Waterford out of over $40,000 by posing as a tech support technician, a 49-year-old Warren man has been arrested and charged in a troubling fraud case.
The arrest was made public this week by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, which also cautioned the public about the rise in frauds that prey on elderly people who are at risk.
Mohammad Gazi, the suspect, was arrested after authorities claim he deceived and defrauded the victim by posing as a worker with the renowned cybersecurity firm McAfee Computer Security.
Gazi is currently facing several criminal counts, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.
The hoax started when Gazi called the elderly woman and said a sizable amount of money had been accidentally transferred into her bank account, according to Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. He told her to take out and return the money under the pretense of fixing the mistake.
The victim complied with his orders in three different cases, withdrawing and sending Gazi a total of $40,000.
The woman thought she was working with a real customer care agent from a reputable cybersecurity company, so the scheme seemed genuine.
When Gazi made a fourth try to get in touch with the woman, the fraud started to fall apart. She became suspicious at that time and called the police.
Because of her quick thinking, authorities were able to catch Gazi before he could further swindle her during a sting operation.
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“This case is a stark reminder of how vulnerable members of our community, especially seniors, are being targeted by increasingly sophisticated frauds,” prosecutor McDonald said. “We were able to thwart this scam before it caused more harm because of the victim’s intuition and the prompt action of our investigators.”
In addition to two counts of using a computer to conduct a crime and one count of attempted false pretense, Gazi is charged with one count of false pretenses over $20,000, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
If found guilty, he might be subject to heavy fines in addition to jail time.
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Authorities are warning the public, especially senior citizens and their families, to be on the lookout for internet and phone scams, particularly those that ask for the recovery of “mistaken deposits” or the verification of bank details.
It is advised that anyone who believes they or a loved one may have been the victim of a similar scam get in touch with their local police enforcement office.
