THOMASTON — A New York man was arrested on Sept. 6 after Thomaston Police Department officers foiled an attempt to defraud a local resident of $18,000 in what appeared to be a sophisticated computer hacking scam involving a fake Microsoft representative and a supposed FDIC agent.
The victim, who was not identified, reported their computer was hacked and received instructions to contact “Microsoft” for assistance.
During the call, the victim was told to withdraw the large sum of money from their bank account for an FDIC agent to collect.
A relative of the victim became aware of the situation and alerted the police.
As officers were at the scene, they noticed a suspicious vehicle near the victim’s residence around the time the money was scheduled to be picked up.
A traffic stop was initiated, and the driver, Zhaozhu Lin, 38, of Flushing, New York, was found to be on his way to retrieve a package from the victim’s home.
Lin was arrested and charged with Conspiracy To Commit Larceny 2nd Degree under the Connecticut General Statutes.
After posting a $50,000 bond, Lin was released and is set to appear at the Torrington Superior Court on Sept. 16.
The Thomaston Police Department reminds the public to remain vigilant against such frauds and encourages anyone with information on suspicious activities to contact their Crime Stoppers line at 860-283-6416, where anonymity is guaranteed and rewards up to $1,000 may be offered for arrest and conviction.
