2 men charged in tech support scam targeting elderly Arizona victims
Dec 31, 2024, 6:25 AM
PHOENIX — Two citizens of India were recently indicted in connection with a tech support scam that targeted elderly Arizona victims, authorities announced Monday.
Ahmed Maqbul Syed, 57, and Rupesh Chandra Chintakindi, 27, were formally charged Dec. 11 with conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Syed, who is being detained pending trial, also was indicted on a conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge.
Each charge in the tech support scam case carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
How were victims targeted in tech support scam?
The two men are accused of helping trick victims in Arizona and other states into believing their computers had been hacked.
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The elderly victims were often lured into the scam with pop-up windows indicating that they should contact “tech support” or “government representatives” to resolve the issue.
However, they were actually directed to people who were participating in the tech support scam.
The conspirators would then try to convince the victims to turn over money, gold or gift cards as a way to protect their assets, prosecutors said.
In at least one incident, a victim was told to deposit cash into a bitcoin ATM.
The Phoenix and Indianapolis divisions of the FBI and the Marana Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from local agencies in Illinois, Wisconsin and Texas.
