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Short filmTranscript
00:00Ashton Bingham
00:10My name is Ashton Bingham.
00:11About 10 years ago, I received a call from a scammer.
00:14And I got annoyed, so I decided to film it.
00:16You can't think of something more convincing
00:22than for me to pay off my IRS debt with a Target gift card.
00:25And the video blew up.
00:27That's when I turned to my Russian friend Art Kulik,
00:29and I said, hey, let's turn this into a business
00:32and start a YouTube channel tormenting scammers.
00:34And I said, tormenting scammers?
00:37That sounds fun. Sign me up.
00:39Here we go. Refreshing.
00:44So we amassed millions of subscribers
00:46and devoted our lives to turning the tables on scammers everywhere.
00:50What are you looking for here?
00:51Why are you running if you're not doing anything wrong?
00:53We're going, huh?
00:54We're going, why are you running?
00:55Scammer!
00:56And we've helped shut down some pretty big scam operations.
01:01Then people around the country started reaching out to us
01:04with their own stories of getting scammed.
01:06So how much did they get from you?
01:08Almost $53,000.
01:10Over two.
01:11Over two million.
01:12Yeah.
01:13And the voices of the victims made one thing clear.
01:16We needed help.
01:17Now, we've assembled an elite team of technological experts
01:21we call the Revengers
01:23to help us trick scammers into revealing their identities
01:27and catching them red-handed.
01:29Together, we are hunting down scammers,
01:32wherever they hide.
01:33Unlock it!
01:34And bringing justice to our victims.
01:36Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
01:37Let's go, let's go, let's go.
01:38You're in your back.
01:39You will be tased if you don't get down.
01:40What's going on?
01:41Get on your face!
01:42This is Scammed Getting Even.
01:45Hey, guys.
01:54Jeffy, what do you got for us?
01:56So I got a phone call from the Sheriff's Department
02:00in Baxter County, Arkansas.
02:03I've got two victims out there.
02:05Both of them are in their 80s.
02:07Both of their names are Barbara.
02:09And both of them have been scammed by a pop-up scammer.
02:12Oh, no.
02:13They're being hit hard.
02:17Baxter County, Arkansas,
02:19a rural area in the Ozark Mountains.
02:22Just four weeks ago,
02:23we worked with law enforcement there
02:24and we got two cash mules arrested in a refund scam.
02:28Men on foot.
02:29Men on foot.
02:30This is for the PayPal.
02:31Yes, sir.
02:32Go, go, go, go, go.
02:33Get on your face!
02:34Get on your face!
02:38Now, we all know you can get scammed at any age.
02:41But Baxter County is being targeted
02:42by a high volume of scammers.
02:44And I think it's because it's what I call
02:46a 70 over 70 community.
02:48Meaning 70% of the population is 70 years plus.
02:52Like the Barbaras,
02:53two women in their 80s who got hit with a pop-up scam.
02:59A pop-up scam is when a fake pop-up window
03:01appears on your computer,
03:03often mimicking an error or virus notification.
03:06At which point a phone number is provided,
03:08leading each victim directly into a trap with the scammer.
03:12Let's get on a call.
03:14Let's set it up.
03:15I'd love to meet the Barbaras
03:16and hit the ground running.
03:17This is a great lead.
03:18Right.
03:19So we'll set up meetings with law enforcement.
03:20We'll set up meetings with the victims
03:22and let's get you guys to Arkansas.
03:24Let's go.
03:28With two victims that Chappie reported
03:30having been hit really hard.
03:32We need to begin by learning how much has been lost
03:35and how the Barbaras got scammed.
03:38Hello.
03:43Barbara, nice to meet you.
03:45How are you?
03:46Hanging in there.
03:47Thank you guys for doing this
03:49and sorry that we're meeting under these circumstances.
03:51Yeah.
03:51Who's with you?
03:52Paula Callender, my granddaughter.
03:54Nice to meet you, Paula.
03:55Paula, nice to meet you.
03:56I really never share my story with anybody.
03:59You are actually braver than 99% of people
04:02that have ever fallen for this scam
04:03because most people don't want to talk about it.
04:05The fact that you're stepping up right now
04:06and even telling us what's going on
04:07is extremely brave and it's admirable
04:09and it's going to save a lot of people.
04:11That's what I'm trying to do.
04:14Barbara, it's lovely to meet you.
04:15Well, thank you for taking the time
04:18and letting me tell my story.
04:20I grew up an Iowa farm girl,
04:23married a farm boy, had two children.
04:26I'm not sure where you are,
04:28but Iowa winters get pretty brutal.
04:30So we came down here in Arkansas.
04:32I've been a widow now for 14 years.
04:37I was born in Chicago, Illinois.
04:40Family is everything.
04:41It always has been.
04:43My whole life was for my kids.
04:45I was a homicide detective for the city and the FBI.
04:50I also had a lot of disguises.
04:53I did.
04:53I impersonated everything from a street walker
04:56to somebody who lived on the Gold Coast.
04:59I put in 23 years.
05:01Holy crap.
05:03As we gather information from both Barbaras,
05:06Barbara Klein and Barbara Kearns,
05:08we need to find out how these scammers were able to target them.
05:12The fact that Barbara Klein was a homicide detective in Chicago
05:17in the 60s and was still manipulated
05:20suggests to me we're dealing with professional criminals.
05:24If you wouldn't mind maybe just taking us from the beginning
05:26of what happened.
05:27I thought I would go to the computer
05:29and I turned it on and the screen just turned fiery red.
05:33sirens and alarms.
05:36It scared me to death.
05:39Across the screen it said,
05:41call Microsoft.
05:43We can help you.
05:45So I went on to the web and the next thing I know
05:48a big screen came down.
05:52At the top of it said Microsoft.
05:54It said,
05:55call this number and we will help you.
05:57So I did.
05:59And whoever answered told me,
06:02our bank was hacked.
06:04They had taken $4,765 out of my account that morning.
06:10What does this guy call himself?
06:12He was James Rayettes.
06:14He said he was from the Federal Trade Commission.
06:18What was the name of the person you talked to, Barbara?
06:21Jack Chen.
06:23And he told me he was an employee of Microsoft Corporation
06:29out of Redmond, Washington with the identity theft department.
06:35He told me that I was being hacked
06:39and that they were trying to get into my checking account.
06:44And he said,
06:45your funds are possibly $33,000 are not safe.
06:49He said,
06:49you must get that money out of the bank.
06:53Okay.
06:54So the scammers are using different names and titles.
06:57One says he works for Microsoft's fraud department.
07:00While the other scammer says he works with the FTC.
07:03FTC stands for Federal Trade Commission,
07:07a federal agency that protects people from fraud.
07:10Despite the differences,
07:11both scammers told each Barbara
07:13that their bank accounts were being hacked
07:15and they needed to get the rest of their money out
07:17or they could lose their entire savings.
07:20I got talked into wiring funds to an account
07:23so I could get that money back.
07:25Can you explain a little more
07:26of like what they were telling you
07:27was the reason you had to wire the money?
07:30They said the federal government
07:32sets up a safe, secure account for me.
07:37Nobody could touch it.
07:38You know, and then I ended up taking my savings
07:42out of two different banks.
07:44How much did you wire?
07:46$16,180.
07:49That was their savings.
07:51We don't have much more than that.
07:54He said,
07:55you must get that money out of the bank.
07:57And he said,
07:59bring the cash home and then the Federal Reserve
08:02would be there to pick it up and it would be secure.
08:05And when everything, when this was all settled,
08:07I would get all that money back.
08:09So I thought I could trust him.
08:11Since it was the Federal Trade Commission,
08:14supposedly, you know,
08:16I'm like, it's got to be okay.
08:18When I would question him, he'd say,
08:20well, you asked us for help.
08:22That's what I'm trying to do.
08:24I went to the bank to withdraw $33,000.
08:29I handed him the package of money.
08:32He smiled at me.
08:33He said, thank you and took off.
08:38I haven't heard from him since.
08:41And it wasn't until they were supposed to
08:44send my monies back
08:46and it was supposed to be delivered by FedEx.
08:49And anyway, it's gone.
08:52I'm going to be 88 November.
08:55I have a husband here who has Alzheimer's.
08:57So I'm under a lot of pressure,
08:59you know, and I blame myself.
09:01So I'm an 87 year old widow lady.
09:05Yeah.
09:06And it was my life savings.
09:07I had, he left me with my social security.
09:10And that was all.
09:12So Barbara Klein sent the 16,000 she lost
09:16through two wire transfers.
09:18And Barbara Kearns gave her $33,000 savings
09:22directly to a cash mule,
09:24which is practically untraceable.
09:26And the preferred method
09:27scammers use to steal from their victims.
09:30The Barbaras were preyed upon
09:32with a computer virus.
09:33And their fear of losing everything
09:35led them directly into the scammers trap.
09:37Unfortunately, this is a common scam.
09:40In our experience, they almost always originate
09:42out of massive call centers in India.
09:44Scammers there are highly organized
09:46and relentlessly pursue their targets.
09:48We recommend that you get some antivirus software
09:51set up on the system.
09:52This is Surfshark antivirus.
09:54It provides real time protection from malware,
09:56malicious web traffic,
09:57and it's something that's going to protect you
09:58from this happening again, going forward.
10:01We want to protect you on every single level.
10:03Me and Ash and our team,
10:04we're going to come.
10:05We're going to spend time with you.
10:07We would love to meet you guys in person
10:09and we will do whatever it takes
10:11to find bad guys, arrest them, confront them.
10:13You guys hang there.
10:15Okay?
10:16Okay.
10:17God bless you.
10:18We got some plans.
10:19We got some ideas
10:20and we want to come see you
10:21and work to bring these guys to justice.
10:23What do you think?
10:23Very good.
10:24Very good.
10:30What the hell is going on in Mountain Home?
10:32It's frustrating to hear the same triggers each time.
10:36Yep.
10:36With both of their stories,
10:38the scammers said,
10:39your money's not safe.
10:41No.
10:41Like, there's hackers.
10:42It's an elderly community.
10:43Yeah.
10:44And you can do exactly the same scam
10:46to every single elderly person.
10:48Yeah.
10:48And as we can see, unfortunately,
10:50it worked as a charm.
10:51Yeah.
10:51Let's go, Pac.
10:56Cash mules steal millions of dollars a year
10:59from American victims.
11:00It's often very difficult
11:02to stop the actual call centers
11:04and scammers responsible right off the bat,
11:06but we can attempt to arrest the cash mules they sent
11:09to steal money from people like the Barbaras
11:12and get them some justice.
11:14So, that's where we're going to jump in.
11:21Why is it Kansas, but it's not our Kansas?
11:24You know what I mean?
11:25Well, fun fact about the name of Arkansas,
11:27it's also illegal to mispronounce Arkansas.
11:30So, I just committed a crime.
11:31Wow.
11:32You're lucky that he's no resident on our team.
11:34It's illegal to mispronounce something?
11:36Dude, you're screwed.
11:41When we were here a few weeks ago,
11:43we worked with Baxter County law enforcement
11:45to arrest a cash mule.
11:47So, we still have investigator Bryce Hinson
11:50and an abandoned property at our disposal
11:54for this operation.
11:55All right, Barbara Klein.
11:57We're on our way to see her.
11:59Let's go.
12:00Sit down, listen, and collect every single evidence
12:02that she has.
12:03Yeah, let's do it.
12:04We're about to meet the first of our two victims,
12:07Barbara Klein.
12:09Since she was a detective,
12:10we're hoping she has information
12:12that can help us track down the criminal
12:14who took her for her 16 grand.
12:22What was the moment when you realized,
12:24what caused you to realize it was a scam for sure?
12:26He said, about five or six o'clock,
12:28we're going to be able to send you that money
12:30from that secured account.
12:32And of course, it got to be evening
12:35and nothing happened.
12:36I said, oh my word,
12:38I've really fell into something.
12:40I called the police and I made a report.
12:44And he said, oh honey, you've been scammed.
12:46I said, no kidding.
12:48Paula, what was your conversation
12:51with Barbara when she called you
12:54and she said, listen, I think I got scammed?
12:56Well, at first I was, honestly,
12:58I was kind of frustrated with her.
13:00You know, I'm like, why?
13:02Why did you do that?
13:03Why did you not call me?
13:04You know?
13:05But, you know, having them hurt
13:08and watching them, everything they've said
13:10they've saved up, you know, be taken from them,
13:13it's not fair.
13:15And my husband, he doesn't think right
13:17with Alzheimer's.
13:19I'm not sure he even realizes what's going on.
13:23It makes me mad that people would even do this
13:25to another human being, period.
13:27What do you have evidence-wise?
13:30Evidence-wise, what can we take a look at?
13:32What I did is I have a habit,
13:35maybe it's from years ago.
13:36I was a police woman.
13:38You always take notes.
13:39So I started right from the beginning,
13:42the name of the man, the number he gave me.
13:44Let's hone in on the wire transfers.
13:47Okay.
13:48Where was the first one?
13:49The first one went to Kenya .
13:51Okay.
13:52The fact that Barbara had the foresight
13:53to take detailed notes,
13:55documenting names, numbers, addresses
13:58and wire transfer information is huge.
14:01It's so good that you have this.
14:02This is really helpful.
14:03This is unbelievable.
14:04This could shave weeks off our investigation,
14:07allowing us to hit the ground running
14:09and start scambating with our team.
14:11So this is Mississippi.
14:12Beneficiary name.
14:13Oh, it's an LLC.
14:15Kraft LLC.
14:16We haven't had the evidence for more than two minutes,
14:21and we already see two separate wires made by Barbara
14:25to a Kenya totaling $10,000
14:29and another sent to Kraft LLC for $6,000.
14:34What we need to find out is who is Kenya ?
14:37What is Kraft LLC?
14:39And is this case connected with our other victim?
14:43We have a team of scambaders
14:44that are gonna be calling these numbers 24-7
14:46in collaboration with your police
14:49and bait these scammers into thinking
14:51they're gonna have another take here at Mountain Home.
14:53We're gonna make these scammers afraid
14:54to ever come to Mountain Home ever again.
14:56You are a blessing, both of you
14:58and all of you for doing this.
15:00You spent decades helping your community get even.
15:02Right.
15:03It's our turn to help you get even.
15:10Our first victim, Barbara Klein,
15:13sent wire transfers that emptied her savings.
15:15Barbara Kearns, the next victim we will speak with,
15:18had a cash mule physically show up at her house
15:21where they collected, or stole rather,
15:24over 30 grand in cash.
15:27What we need to find out is
15:29how did her scammer convince her to do this?
15:33In the beginning of this, I said,
15:35Jack, how do I know I can trust you?
15:37I'm going to be 87 years old in a few weeks.
15:41I'm a widow.
15:42And I said, this is my life savings.
15:45I don't have a good feeling about this.
15:48He interrupted me.
15:49He said, you're old enough to be my grandma.
15:52He said, I lost my grandma during the COVID
15:56and I miss her so much.
15:58I will do nothing to hurt you.
16:00You can trust me.
16:01And he said, I can show you my profile.
16:06Under his picture,
16:07it had Jack Chen employed by Microsoft
16:11identity theft department.
16:14And I thought, it's authentic.
16:19He said, I could tell no one.
16:22So he's gaining your trust by making you question everyone
16:27that you actually trust.
16:28Yes.
16:29Obviously, trust is a big issue here.
16:31After being scammed,
16:33Barbara doesn't know who she can rely on.
16:35So that's why she's accompanied by her pastor,
16:37Mike Clark.
16:38He's been vital as he and his wife, Jan,
16:41have been the people that helped her come forward
16:43about her scam.
16:44He also got the sheriff involved
16:46who initially conducted shopping.
16:48Oh, I just, it was devastating being a scam.
16:51I knew that Barb had to have somebody to protect her.
16:53She didn't understand the psychology
16:55that this guy was working.
16:57What a, what a violation that must feel,
16:59especially to know it's such a small community
17:00when they're physically showing up to your front door.
17:03And that was the other thing.
17:04I just felt really terrible that Barb was violated
17:06in such a way.
17:07Yeah.
17:08And that's the thing that I'm concerned about
17:09here in our community.
17:11Okay.
17:12Barbara's scammer is experienced.
17:14He hits her from two angles on a personal level,
17:17making her feel empathy for the supposed loss
17:19of his granny.
17:20And secondly, fabricating a work profile
17:24to appear legitimate.
17:25And with him telling her not to speak to her family,
17:29she never stood a chance.
17:31Then he started in, he said,
17:35Mrs. Kearns, do you have another account?
17:37I have no idea how he would know that,
17:40but he did.
17:42And he said, and someone is trying
17:44to get into that account.
17:46It's about $38,000.
17:49So there was two cash pickups.
17:51The grand total was what?
17:53$65,000, $70,000?
17:54$71,000.
17:55$71,000.
17:56One was $38,000 and one was $33,000.
18:01Okay.
18:02So Barbara didn't just empty one account.
18:04She emptied both of her savings accounts.
18:07It's absolutely heartbreaking.
18:10Her life savings, just completely gone.
18:16Where in there did you realize that you were scammed?
18:19It was a week later, and I did not hear from Jack,
18:23and I didn't get my letter of authenticity
18:26saying that it was deposited.
18:28I had the feeling that I was not going to see
18:31that money again.
18:33And then on Sunday, I saw my friend Jan in church
18:37first thing, and I said, Jan, I'm in trouble,
18:41and I need to talk to you and Mike.
18:44And she said, we will be over this afternoon.
18:47And that's when we got involved.
18:49Yeah.
18:50They came to my home Sunday afternoon,
18:52and I told them my story.
18:54What was going through your mind
18:55the first time you heard all this?
18:57Well, it was just really hard because, you know,
19:00here she is with her life savings,
19:03and that is what she has to live on.
19:05And this was taken away just instantly.
19:07A lot of anger.
19:09Yeah.
19:09You know?
19:10Yeah.
19:10Because of the fact that he was doing this to a friend.
19:15But we knew we had to get to work on it
19:17and get things straightened out.
19:18Mike, he called the sheriff.
19:21He advised me to not to have any further conversations
19:26with Jack.
19:27I didn't.
19:27I haven't talked to him since.
19:28Good.
19:29I told her she needed to let her family know right away.
19:32And I did that afternoon.
19:33How did that go?
19:35I think they were shocked to no end
19:38that their mom would fall for this.
19:40But my son says, Mom, it's done.
19:43It's in the past.
19:45We can't go back.
19:46So we have to go forward.
19:49I am so thankful for people like Mike and his wife, Jan,
19:52because without them,
19:53Barbara wouldn't have gone to the police.
19:55Scam victims need that kind of support system.
19:58Barbara, we have a plan.
19:59It's called scam baiting.
20:01We are baiting the scammer into our trap.
20:03We have a whole team of revengers, we call them.
20:06And we basically bait them into doing exactly
20:09what they did to you.
20:10Sending a courier to pick up what they're expecting
20:13to be a large amount of cash,
20:14except they're not going to get any cash.
20:16They're going to get a police officer in handcuffs.
20:18Wonderful.
20:19Did you happen to save any information?
20:22Didn't you get a letter of authenticity?
20:25I've got the letter from...
20:27Get that out and get that little notepad
20:28that you have all those dates and stuff.
20:30That will be so helpful.
20:31We have rats to catch.
20:34We have a lot of work to do.
20:35So we're grateful for your bravery.
20:37And Pastor Mike, thank you.
20:39Thanks for being her champion.
20:40Yeah.
20:46All right, let's go through and figure out
20:49a rough timeline of both of these scams.
20:53What we know so far.
20:55Both Barbaras got a pop-up virus on their computer.
20:59All the scammer needed was for them to be connected
21:01to the internet and the virus window took over their screen.
21:04They then called a phone number provided
21:06and unbeknownst to them got connected with the scammer.
21:09They were told their savings accounts were being hacked
21:12and that you must deposit the rest of your money
21:15into our safe account with FTC.
21:17The scammer claimed to work with Microsoft
21:20and that the Social Security Administration
21:22would send them the confirmation of their protected funds.
21:25It's confusing and doesn't really add up.
21:28But out of fear, they sent their life savings
21:31and now it's all gone.
21:34What we need to find out is who really did this?
21:37Are these cases connected?
21:39And how can we start scam-baiting?
21:42With Barbara Kearns,
21:44in two and a half months, she lost $71,000.
21:48I found only one number in her nose,
21:51which is fake Social Security Administration.
21:52Is this the only handwritten note?
21:54Yeah.
21:55That's Jack Chan.
21:58Jack Chan was the person,
22:00when she called this pop-up number,
22:01Microsoft Social Security Administration.
22:04There is a number right there.
22:05There is a number right here.
22:06Yeah, 564.
22:07That's the number that we need to give to our scam-baiters
22:10to call this fake Social Security Administration office.
22:13They use the real Social Security Administration letterhead
22:17and then they just fill it in with all their...
22:19Whatever they need.
22:20...bull crap.
22:21All right, let's move on to Barbara Klein.
22:23She took down notes of everything, which is great.
22:26Barbara Klein did two wire transfers.
22:28Right.
22:29So this is the first wire transfer.
22:31$6,000 from Barbara Klein to Kraft LLC.
22:37$10,130 more dollars the same day, 2.37 p.m.
22:43But this time it didn't go to an LLC.
22:45It went to a person.
22:46To a lady named Kenya .
22:48I would like to do a quick search.
22:50I want to find out who Kenya is.
22:53Kenya .
22:56If it is actually her receiving the money,
23:03is an employee for the Social Security Office in Mississippi.
23:04Our second victim Barbara Kearns has fraudulent documents
23:08from these same offices.
23:09A coincidence?
23:10I think not.
23:11I think not.
23:12This connection is a strong indication that the same scammer is targeted.
23:17both Barbara's.
23:18And based off our findings, the scammer is very likely impersonating Kenya .
23:23a government employee.
23:24She's an official and a believable mask for the scammer to hide behind.
23:26She's an official and a believable mask for the scammer to hide behind.
23:29What are the coincident?
23:30Two Barbaras.
23:31Same scam.
23:32Two Barbaras.
23:33Same scam.
23:34I think not.
23:35Our second victim Barbara Kearns has fraudulent documents from these same offices.
23:36A coincidence?
23:37I think not.
23:38This connection is a strong indication that the same scammer is targeting both Barbaras.
23:42And based off our findings, the scammer is very likely impersonating Kenya .
23:47a government employee.
23:49She's an official and a believable mask for the scammer to hide behind.
23:54What are the coincident?
23:56Two Barbaras.
23:57Same scam.
23:58Pop pop.
23:59From what we can see in these documents, I see every indication that both of these Barbaras
24:04were scammed by the same group of people.
24:06Most likely from a call center in India.
24:09With a case like this in a town like Mountain Home, Arkansas that has been hit hard by scammers,
24:14we want to solve it as fast as possible.
24:16So we're calling on three of our faithful revengers who actually helped us scam bait at this
24:21bait house before.
24:23Chappie Gray, who keeps her identity a secret for security reasons, first introduced us to
24:28the Barbaras.
24:29If you want it, you can come pick it up.
24:30It's that simple.
24:31Her partner, Bull Raxon.
24:33How much am I wire transferring?
24:3525,000?
24:36And Dayo, our Canadian crime sleuth who, like me, adopts different characters.
24:41I'm chico, what are you asking?
24:43I'm chico.
24:44We worked with them for years and need them now more than ever to help the Barbaras.
24:51Chappie Gray, Dayo, good morning guys.
24:53Thank you for joining us.
24:54Right now we are sitting in Mountain Home, Arkansas.
24:57We just met with two victims, both of which are named Barbara.
25:01They were both hit by the Microsoft pop-up scam.
25:04Got scammed by the same call center and the same type of scam.
25:07And what we want to do is take all of these phone numbers, get you guys on the phone with them,
25:11in collaboration with the Baxter County Sheriff.
25:14They're going to arrest these people.
25:15Right now, so I'm thinking the best way to get them to go there would be to fast track the scam.
25:21So try to get some names of some of the scammers that are in there.
25:24So then I can call pretending that I already have the money and saying I spoke to said scammers.
25:30He told me that someone's going to come pick the money up.
25:33That's a great way.
25:34Since it's a numbers game, the more we can do, I think if you and Ash are doing the fast track,
25:40that you'll know real quickly if it's not a go, you can move on to the next one.
25:44We have tons of numbers.
25:45Let's make some noise here that they won't forget and we'll make this happen.
25:48Yep, we're ready to go.
25:50Normally, to infiltrate a call center, it takes days, weeks even.
25:55Well, the time is now for Mountain Home, so we don't have time to waste.
25:59So to embed within 24 hours, Dale and Chappie are going to call into the scammers pretending they've already spoken.
26:06And while they start scam baiting, we need to meet with the county sheriff and get the ball rolling on the bait house.
26:12We used the same house to make an arrest four weeks ago, but since it was a different scam organization,
26:17the address won't be a red flag to our current scammers.
26:21We could have a cash mule as early as tomorrow, so we need to get things moving.
26:26Thank you, sir.
26:27Thank you, sir.
26:28How are you doing?
26:30All right.
26:31Good morning.
26:32Glad y'all could be here.
26:33This is Art and Ashton.
26:34And what they do, their expertise is to catch the scammers that we're going to get here and we're hopefully going to get them arrested.
26:47Yeah, so with this particular scam, in this case Microsoft, who they're impersonating, convincing the victim that they have either some kind of problem with their computer,
26:55some kind of problem with their bank, they're being hacked, their identity's been stolen.
26:59They make them believe that, you know, that they're going to lose everything.
27:02So that's where we come in.
27:03We take the phone numbers, people that they interacted with, and basically we interact with them as though we were victims as well.
27:10We're going to plant GoPros, cameras, and we're going to do 360 view.
27:16Every single car getting in and out from this neighborhood.
27:19The house, front door, back door, porch, and specifically the exchange between cash mule and Ashton.
27:27You just do whatever you need to do to make that transaction.
27:30We'll have enough undercover vehicles close by and we can get the bad guy, if you will, in cuffs quickly.
27:37What I'm hoping when this is all said and done is when they hear the zip code, you know, we're not coming there.
28:01Yes, hi, is Andrew there?
28:03Yes.
28:07I went to the bank and I have the $30,000 and I have it here now from Microsoft.
28:17Because you told me that I might have a virus or hackers.
28:22All right.
28:24So are you coming to pick it up?
28:26You have the $30,000?
28:27Yes, I have it here and I would prefer if someone came to pick it up.
28:32Yes, sir.
28:33Let me know what was your zip code.
28:35Yes.
28:3662654.
28:37Mountain Home, Arkansas.
28:38We are going to send you our man to collect those money, okay?
28:39Okay.
28:40So they're coming tomorrow or today?
28:41Today, today.
28:42It might be taken out of the rights.
28:43Uh, okay.
28:44Bye-bye.
28:45Okay, we just got one.
28:46That's crazy.
28:47I mean, he said, I think you heard me, right?
28:48He said three o'clock, 315 is when the guy will get there.
28:53So right now it's like 2 o'clock.
28:542 o'clock.
28:552 o'clock.
28:562 o'clock.
28:572 o'clock.
28:58It's 2 o'clock right now.
28:59Yeah.
29:00There's like a cop inside the garage if we have to whip it open, but the place is surrounded.
29:17Okay.
29:18I'll keep you posted.
29:19Okay.
29:20So, last time we baited at this house, we were accompanied by investigator Bryce Hinson
29:28and supported by Baxter County law enforcement.
29:31This time will be no different.
29:33But every single case is unique.
29:35We have two victims, both named Barbara, and both likely scammed by the same scam organization
29:41for nearly $100,000 total.
29:45Chappie connected us with the victims, and Deo was able to arrange for a cashmule to arrive.
29:50Now that I'm boots on the ground, I'm picking up the conversation with the scammer from here
29:55on out.
29:56Are you answering?
29:59Hello?
30:02Yes, this is Andrew Ferguson.
30:08The password is STC agent number three.
30:12This scam group has stolen all the barbers' life savings and has violated their lives.
30:27If we don't get an arrest, we're back at square one in regaining justice for them.
30:32This cannot happen.
30:36Scammer Andrew Ferguson, or as he calls himself, Ferguson, is saying that the FTC agent is approaching.
30:43He wants the house address.
30:45Am I good to drop the address for the house?
30:48Of course.
30:49Yeah?
30:50Do it.
30:51Let's go.
30:52All right.
30:53It's time to go.
30:54Come on, old man.
30:56While I gear up as the victim, a 94-year-old elderly man named Felix Fleming, Eli is monitoring
31:04the street for any activity.
31:06White SUV.
31:07As is Baxter County law enforcement.
31:09All right.
31:10Cash.
31:11Cash.
31:12Okay.
31:13And the rules of the game are simple.
31:15We have some fake cash we'll put in the box, and we have a password.
31:19FTC agent number three.
31:21If our mule knows that information, we know we have the right guy, and we can engage law
31:26enforcement.
31:27Okay.
31:28He's calling me.
31:29Okay.
31:30Oh.
31:31Quiet, quiet, quiet.
31:32He's calling.
31:33Yeah.
31:34Yes.
31:35Can you hear me?
31:36Yeah.
31:37Okay.
31:38So are you in your house now?
31:39You can go outside.
31:40Why do you want me to go outside now?
31:44Yes.
31:45Uh.
31:46There will be outside of your house.
31:48Okay?
31:49Okay.
31:50Once you're outside, just say hello to me.
31:53Okay?
31:54Do not disconnect the line.
31:55I need you to stay connected with me, all right?
31:58Oh.
31:59Yeah.
32:00I'm standing outside now.
32:03Did you see any car nearby your house?
32:06Oh.
32:07What kind of?
32:08What kind of car?
32:09Can you see me more?
32:10Yeah.
32:11Please turn.
32:12Yeah.
32:13Yeah.
32:14Yeah.
32:15All right.
32:16There's a red car coming down.
32:17Yeah.
32:18Red car is...
32:19No.
32:20Neighbor.
32:21Neighbor.
32:22I saw a red...
32:23Bigger car.
32:24Go red.
32:25Oh.
32:26We got a Mazda coming in.
32:27Black Mazda.
32:28Left side.
32:29Coming in now.
32:31Yep.
32:32He's staring at Ashton.
32:35He seems to be waving to Ashton.
32:39Ashton just waved to him.
32:41Did you see a black color Mazda car?
32:43Yeah.
32:44A black Mazda.
32:45Yeah.
32:46We just went around the corner here.
32:47Go in front of the car.
32:49Okay?
32:50And ask them the password.
32:51And when I told you handle the package, generally give it to him.
32:55Okay?
32:56Yeah.
32:57Just ask him the password first of all.
32:58I'll be on the line with you.
32:59Yeah.
33:00Do you want me to walk towards him or what?
33:03This mule wants me to meet him at his car.
33:06Instead of him meeting me at the front door.
33:09Which could mean a potential car chase.
33:12I don't think he's going to get out of the car, guys.
33:14I think he's going to stay in the car.
33:15We have investigator Bryce Hinson and his squad car in our garage.
33:19So I'm buying as much time as possible to prepare.
33:22Hello?
33:23Can you hear me?
33:24Yeah.
33:25What's the password?
33:26Yeah.
33:27What is it?
33:28FTC Agent 3.
33:29FTC Agent 3?
33:30Yes.
33:31Are you here for the cache?
33:32Yes, sir.
33:33Yeah, cache?
33:34Do you want me to open it or what?
33:35Oh, man.
33:36Oh, good.
33:37You want this here?
33:39Oh, yeah.
33:40Hold on over here.
33:41He's going.
33:42He's going.
33:43He's going.
33:44He's going.
33:45He's going.
33:46He's going.
33:47He's going.
33:48He's going.
33:49Let's go.
33:50Let's go.
33:51He's got enough.
33:53Looks like it's the package.
33:54Okay.
33:55Go, go, go, go.
33:56Another way.
33:57And it looks...
34:08Hex County.
34:09I'm on Ridge, Mount Briteway in pursuit.
34:16Okay, went the wrong way.
34:18Go around the circle.
34:19Good.
34:20Good, good, good, good.
34:24Guys, we need a vehicle description.
34:25There he is.
34:26That's it.
34:36Stop!
34:38Turn your car off!
34:41Put it in four!
34:42We're going to be advised, close to hospital drive.
34:47Unlock it!
34:49Get out.
34:50Get on your face.
34:53Get down.
34:54On your face.
34:55Let you know here in a minute.
34:59Okay?
35:01Package is in the back seat.
35:04Yeah.
35:05Good job, y'all.
35:06Hell yeah.
35:07Hell yeah.
35:08I didn't expect that to turn into a car chase, but that's the thing with these cases.
35:12You really can't predict what's going to happen.
35:15I'm just glad we got an arrest and this cashmule off the streets.
35:19You understand that you're under arrest, correct?
35:29Yes.
35:30Are you a citizen of what country?
35:33India.
35:34India.
35:35India.
35:36How long have you been in the United States?
35:37You're in Africa.
35:38So you understood that you were coming up here to get money, get cashed from somebody?
35:43Yeah.
35:44Okay.
35:45Who called me?
35:46So the guy is from back in India and he connected me through social media and all that stuff.
35:57Mm-hmm.
35:58Yeah.
35:59Okay.
36:00What is the name of the person?
36:02His name?
36:03Yeah.
36:04Paris.
36:05Paris, that's his first name?
36:06Yes, sir.
36:07What about his second name?
36:08I don't know the second name.
36:10And do you know Paris to be a scammer?
36:13I don't know anything about that.
36:14I just earned some money so that I can pay my dad and I can go back to my country.
36:20Mm-hmm.
36:21So can you please tell me what will be the next procedure or something?
36:27Um, so you will be charged with a crime formally.
36:31For right now, you know, you're being held on theft and plea.
36:34Okay.
36:35I don't think you've told me the truth.
36:38Sir, I told you all the truth, sir.
36:40Well, we'll try being a little like, okay?
36:44Shutting down cash mules is detrimental to call centers.
36:48Across the US, cash mules provide an unknown and untraceable stream of cash, ruining people's
36:54lives for whatever scam group they work for.
36:57As we suspected, our particular mule work for an unknown scammer group in India run by a man named
37:04Paresh.
37:05With this arrest and that cash flow shut down, we'll pass all our findings to Homeland Security
37:10to help build a case against Paresh and his call center.
37:14In the meantime, Mountain Home, Arkansas will likely be on their no scam list for quite a while.
37:24Good news.
37:31We had brought in our revengers, a bunch of people on our team that are professionals at understanding
37:37how these scams work, took every single phone number that you guys gave us, all of the scam
37:41contacts, all of the screenshots, and started calling these guys and pretending to be more victims.
37:46We had the Baxter County Sheriff's Department with us, Mountain Home Police Department, and Homeland Security.
37:51Oh my goodness.
37:52I have a very old mask, and I was pretending to be an old man.
37:55I talk like this on the phone.
37:58Once we had them confident enough that it was a real victim, this scammer sent a cash mule to the house.
38:06Let me just show you what happened.
38:07Okay.
38:08I'm interested.
38:09Let me show you this here.
38:12Here we go.
38:13You're here for the cash?
38:16Yes, sir.
38:17Yeah, cash?
38:18Yeah.
38:19He's going.
38:20He's going.
38:21He's going.
38:22He's going.
38:23He's going.
38:24Go.
38:25Go.
38:26Go.
38:27Go.
38:28Go.
38:29Go.
38:30Go.
38:31Go.
38:32Go.
38:33Go.
38:34Go.
38:35Go.
38:36Go.
38:37Go.
38:38Go.
38:39Come on, everyone, sir.
38:40Let you know here in a minute.
38:42Barbara, you look speechless.
38:46I appreciate it.
38:47I am.
38:48You look very speechless right now.
38:49What do you think?
38:50Is that something—
38:51That's unbelievable.
38:52Wonderful.
38:53But wonderful.
38:54Ya, thank you guys.
38:55I have the press release right here.
38:56A citizen of India was said to be in the United States on a student visa
39:00and booked on charges of theft of property, felony,
39:04fleeing by vehicle, felony,
39:06and currently on hold by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
39:08Wow. Wonderful.
39:11Mike, how are you feeling about all this?
39:12My concern is primarily to educate the people.
39:15They'll let them see that it can happen,
39:18but they need to come forward and tell their stories
39:20so you can go to work and make it happen.
39:22The best way to fix a scam is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
39:26You're still in shock.
39:29Barbara looking at this, she's still like...
39:32Yes.
39:34So many people get scammed around the country and keep it to themselves,
39:40but you cannot get justice if you don't speak up.
39:43Just a few weeks after our investigation,
39:45Barbara Klein's bank returned $6,000 of the $16,000 stolen from her
39:51after deeming it wire fraud.
39:53And as for Barbara Kearns and the rest of Mountain Home,
39:56with three cash mules arrested in the last few weeks,
39:59the community can rest easy,
40:01at least for now,
40:02knowing they got even.
40:04It can hold them.
40:12They can hold them in to it unless they finally get it.
40:13COVID-19 hasn't closed.
40:17Right now we go.
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