MOREAU, NY — Law enforcement officers intervened to stop an elderly woman from losing $20,000 to scammers who posed as PayPal employees and gained remote access to her devices.
A Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office investigator and a Homeland Security Investigations special agent conducted a welfare check on May 19, 2026, after discovering the woman had attempted to ship $20,000 hidden in books to an address in California.
When officers arrived at the woman’s residence, she appeared distressed and said she was expecting to be picked up by a friend.
The investigator and special agent noticed the woman had a cellular phone at her side and appeared to be on a live call.
They quietly advised the woman that they believed she was being scammed.
The victim told them someone was coming to pick up $20,000 in cash from her at any moment.
She explained she had received a notification through her email regarding a PayPal account charge for a purchase she had not made and contacted the number on the email to rectify the situation.
The scammers convinced the woman to download a remote access app on her computer and mobile phone, which allowed them to view and change things on her computer and see through her web camera.
The scammers convinced her they had mistakenly given her too much money when refunding the bogus purchase.
They convinced the victim to ship $20,000 hidden in books to California and drive to a virtual cryptocurrency machine in Massachusetts where she was directed to deposit $20,000.
The cryptocurrency transaction could not be completed, and the victim drove back home.
After the failed cryptocurrency purchase attempt, the scammers arranged for a courier to come pick up $20,000 from the woman’s residence.
Officers later discovered the courier had shown up soon after their arrival and left the area before being detected.
The investigation is ongoing.
Last month, the Sheriff’s Office and HSI intercepted and returned over $433,000 in stolen scam funds to two Saratoga County residents.
This includes a $245,000 wire transfer being sent from a resident of Halfmoon to what they believed was a title company, and a $188,000 bank teller check being sent from a resident of Clifton Park to what they believed was the Federal Trade Commission.
In both cases the scams were foiled, and the funds were recovered and returned to the victims.
The Sheriff’s Office and HSI have scheduled community outreach programs educating residents about scams.
The programs are scheduled for Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 1 p.m. at the Halfmoon Senior Center, 287 Lower Newtown Road, Waterford, and Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Clifton Park Elks Lodge, 695 MacElroy Road, Ballston Lake.
