Quick work by police in Barnegat Township in Ocean County kept an 80-year-old man’s life savings from getting into the hands of scammers who infiltrated the man’s computer.
The man, who did not want to be identified, fell for the scheme that convinced him that $95,000 had been mistakenly deposited to his bank account and he needed to send a cashier’s check to New York City to return the money.
The $95,000 equaled nearly all of the man’s savings.
“He would pop up on. It was mostly his voice I heard. He was so convincing. I convinced my wife,” the man said.
However, on Sunday, Nov. 2, the man realized he fell for fraud and alerted Barnegat Township police, who quickly sprung into action to save the man’s life savings.
“If he had waited any longer, it would have been a completely different story,” said Officer Devon Boyle of the Barnegat Township Police Department.
Boyle quickly notified Detective Rob Armstrong, who was food shopping on his day off when he got the call.
“This job, it never stops,” Armstrong said. “I reached out to a contact I had with the United States Postal Inspector. He put me in contact with a UPS manager.”
In less than three hours, they were able to track the package down at a UPS facility in Queens and get the check before it got in the hands of criminals.
“It had been found, and it was in good hands,” the man said.
The scam is still under investigation. No one has been arrested, but Barnegat Police are working with federal authorities to track down leads.
“The people that run these scams are very organized, you know,” Armstrong said. “And a lot of stuff happens overseas.”’
Boyle agreed with Armstrong, saying, “You have to be smart with what you’re doing with your money. I mean, the end of the day, no one’s going to be contacting you through your computer.”
As for the man, he said he is just grateful for the police.
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