UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Financial Crimes Section is asking for the community’s assistance in identifying the individual in this surveillance video. Investigators believe he has information critical to an active investigation into a tech support scam that occurred in the county in June.
In this case, the victim received a pop-up notification on their computer indicating their device had a virus and had been compromised. The victim was instructed to call a provided phone number. The victim spoke to several suspects who represented themselves as computer tech support employees, representatives from the victim’s bank and later officials from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The suspects then emailed the victim a fraudulent document reported to be from the Social Security Administration which listed the victim’s name and the name of the victim’s bank. The victim was advised their bank account had been compromised and that the SSA was working with multiple trusted government agencies to assist the victim. The victim was instructed to withdraw money from the compromised bank account and provide the money to individuals working on behalf of the Social Security Administration.
The victim was instructed to give the cash to an individual who would pick it up in person. That person provided an agreed upon code word to receive the money. Here are two photos of a tattoo on the individual’s arm and the vehicle he drove.
So far this year, the agency has received reports of 22 tech support scams resulting in a loss of approximately $500,000. In other instances of tech support scams, the victim will receive a computer pop-up message, text message, or phone call from a scammer posing as a customer tech support agent.
The scammer advises the victim his or her computer has a virus and has been compromised. To protect the victim’s computer, the scammer states they will need remote access into the victim’s device to resolve the issue. After being given remote access, the scammer tells the victim his or her financial accounts have also been compromised and transfers them to another scammer who poses as a bank official. The bank official scammer then steals the victim’s money by transferring it into cryptocurrency, purchasing gift cards, or arranging an illicit wire transfer.
The PGPD reminds all residents to never give personal financial information to anyone you do not know. If you are worried about software issues on your computer, contact the company managing your software or your anti-virus software company.
If you believe you have been the victim of a tech support scam or know the identity of the individual in this video, please call us. PGPD detectives investigating these scams can be reached at 301-516-1464.
Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, or use the “P3 Tips” mobile app search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto your mobile device. Please refer to case number 24-0033982.
