PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WKBN) – Federal authorities have tracked down two people from California who investigators say preyed on the elderly in a computer scam.
Thien Phuc Tran, 32, and Ton Huynh Bui, 29, both of Santa Ana, California, were indicted on April 26 and arrested Thursday.
According to the indictment, the two suspects are related by marriage and worked to infiltrate computers to steal from unsuspecting victims, investigators said. The multi-million scheme involved contacting victims through pop-up messages and falsely purported to be from reputable technology companies. They convinced the victims that their financial accounts had been compromised, ultimately gaining control of the victims’ financial account information.
Some of the stolen funds were then converted to cryptocurrency and moved money through multiple accounts. One victim lost their retirement account totaling over $1.2 million.
“Cybercriminals are targeting our aging population at an ever-increasing rate,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “This conspiracy targeted members of the senior population in western Pennsylvania and across the United States. In some cases, these criminals have stolen the life savings of unsuspecting and trusting seniors through social engineering, computer intrusions and other means. The FBI will continue to work to put…
