FORT MYERS, Fla. — Deputies arrested a 24-year-old man accused of scamming an elderly person out of $30,000 by posing as a Social Security agent in Fort Myers.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office arrested Omsai Kiran Vaddi after setting up a sting operation when he attempted to scam the victim a second time.
Watch Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price's report:
The scam began with a phone call that went to the victim's voicemail.
"It went straight to voicemail. That voicemail had said that this victim was going to be receiving a package in the mail, but it couldn't be delivered," said Julie Sin, public information officer for the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators say the woman called back and spoke to someone she thought was a federal agent.
During the call, Vaddi convinced the elderly woman she was part of a money laundering scheme, according to Sin.
The victim then met with the scammer face-to-face and handed over $30,000.
"That hand to hand transaction sometime over the weekend, on Monday, that victim received another call from that same scammer asking for additional funds," Sin said.
After the initial $30,000 loss, Vaddi called back requesting $125,000.
This time, the woman grew suspicious and contacted the sheriff's office, which set up a sting operation.
"We then started scamming that scammer," Sin said. "When the scammer showed up to get that additional funds, that's when our economic crimes unit, our narcotics unit, and our tactical narcotics unit moved in and made that arrest."
Sin says this case highlights a concerning trend in scams targeting elderly residents.
"They're starting to really target the elderly victims, and they're asking them to meet them in person. That's something new that we're seeing," Sin said.
She advises that legitimate FBI agents or any federal agent or representative would have proper credentials, and encourages people to ask questions when approached.
"With these scams that we have seen recently, where people are trying to meet up with the scammer in person. They're dressed as a normal person, jeans, T-shirts, and they're just rolling up in their personal vehicles," Sin said.
Sin also noted that elderly people are often more vulnerable to these scams.
"Unfortunately, we see elderly people are more victimized in these scenarios because they're able to get talked into more and they're able to stay on the phone longer with these scammers. But again, these scammers will target anyone and everyone who they can convince," Sin said.
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