$10,000 sent to California by Naples elder fraud victim recovered by police

Officers with the Naples Police Department recovered $10,000 in cash sent all the way to California by a victim as part of an elder fraud scam. In a news release, officers say that on Monday an elderly Naples resident fell victim to a fraud scheme after being contacted by scammers impersonating individuals from a legitimate government agency. The victim was convinced to withdraw $10,000 in cash from their bank account and ship it overnight to an address in Irvine, California. After the fraud was reported to Naples police, members of its Cyber Crimes Unit began working to locate the package before it reached its destination. Officers say they worked with UPS and law enforcement agencies in California to intercept the package in transit. On Tuesday, the full $10,000 in cash was recovered. Arrangements are being made to return the money to the victim. An investigation into the people responsible for the scam remains ongoing. “Our elderly residents are increasingly being targeted by sophisticated criminals who use fear and urgency to exploit their trust and steal their hard-earned savings. Protecting our senior community from these crimes is one of the reasons we established our Cyber Crimes Unit. This case demonstrates what can be accomplished when our investigators act quickly and work collaboratively with other law enforcement agencies and private-sector partners,” said Naples Police Chief Ciro Dominguez. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV