STAMFORD, Conn. — Stamford police are reminding residents to be vigilant after a resident more than $425,000 in a wire fraud scam.
Police said that one of their financial crimes investigators was contacted on March 10 by a resident and local realtor who reportedly fell victim to the fraud.
According to police, the resident was trying to buy a home in Fairfield County, but a suspect had somehow infiltrated the email conversation. Because of that, they managed to trick the resident into wiring $426,0000 to a fraudulent account. The scam is often referred to as a business email compromise, or BEC, police said.
Investigator Stempien, a task force officer with the FBI Cyber Task Force out of New Haven, confirmed that the resident filed an Internet Crime complaint with the FBI, and they were already working to freeze the account.
Stamford police said that thanks to the quick work of the FBI, around $425,000 out of the money lost was able to be frozen, recovered, and returned within days to the resident, who went on to finally buy the home.
Police said that it's important that these types of scams are reported to the banks and law enforcement as soon as they happen.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of this case, but unfortunately, other victims are often not as lucky as the suspects often move funds before the victims even realize they have been scammed," the department said.
The FBI encourages anyone that is a victim or knows a victim of cyber fraud to report it here.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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