SPRINGFIELD TWP. — Local police say fraud targeting people online is rampant and often goes unsolved.
But the Springfield Twp. and Bay Village police departments are investigating separate fraud investigations that ended with suspects being arrested after detectives said they showed up to victims' homes to collect cash.
Both cases involved a pop-up message showing up on senior citizens' computers.
Springfield Twp. Police Chief Jack Simone said the case his department is investigating involved a scammer telling a woman that her social security number had been compromised and telling her to call a number to fix the problem.
"They told her, 'Don't tell your neighbors, don't tell your friends, don't tell your financial institution, but we need you to wire money to an undisclosed location,'" Simone said.
Simone said the situation escalated with the scammer telling the woman that she needed to go to the bank, withdraw thousands of dollars and that they would send a courier to her house to pick up the money.
He said money was picked up from the woman's home several times, and she later alerted the police, who set up a sting.
On Dec. 4, police arrested a 33-year-old man from New York as he arrived to collect a cash delivery.
Simone said it's not clear if the man they arrested had help.
"I believe it's a bigger operation than what we see right now," Simone said.
The suspect is facing felony charges and is being held at the Summit County Jail.
On Dec. 1, the Bay Village Police Department arrested a 29-year-old man from Indiana who they said traveled to the home of a resident looking to collect $15,000.
Police said the message appearing on the victim's computer stated it needed to be cleaned.
"They ended up charging her credit card $350 to clean up her computer, but then they came back on and then they started calling her on the phone and indicating she owed another $30,000 to clean her computer," said Det. Sgt. Jay Elish.
Elish said $15,000 was agreed to, and the scammer said someone would come to the woman's home to retrieve the money. Police said a red flag went off, and the woman called police.
"So we had instructed them that if somebody showed up call 911 which she did and our officers were there within a minute."
The suspect is facing felony charges and is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Elish, who's been in law enforcement for more than 30 years, said he couldn't believe the scammer actually showed up at the woman's home.
"Even though we've had a number of cases where they said they would show up they never do. So this one was unique," Elish said.
TrustedSec, a local information security consulting firm, said scammers have a lot of avenues in today's world.
"Now the internet has really made crime within reach for anybody," said Alex Hamerstone, advisory solutions director at TrustedSec.
He said it's important for people to keep their software updated, including antivirus protection.
Hamerstone said people should use strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and trust their gut when something doesn't seem right.
He added, "If things are popping up on your phone, if they're popping up on your computer... you really need to just close them- ignore them."
Police and Hamerstone said anyone can become a victim, and it's important to report fraud to local authorities immediately.
"Often times they're (scammers) are just casting a very wide net," Hamerstone said.
