Greenwich Woman Scammed Out Of Nearly $500K, Warrant Says

GREENWICH, CT — A 23-year-old New York City man was arrested earlier this month and charged in connection with a multi-week scam that police say swindled a Greenwich woman out of nearly $500,000, according to an arrest warrant.

Zhipeng Lin, of Elmhurst, N.Y., was arrested on Jan. 10 following an undercover sting operation by police eight days earlier, his arrest warrant notes. Lin was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny and criminal attempt at first-degree larceny.

On Dec. 28, 2024, the Greenwich woman, 74, reported to police that she was a victim of a computer and telephone scam that began on Nov. 18 when she received an email detailing an invoice for McAfee Security, Det. Ryan Beattie wrote in an arrest warrant.

"What followed were a series of conversations and alleged blunders," which ultimately led the woman to believe she was in debt to McAfee "for a large sum of money," Beattie said.

To obtain money to pay the debt back, the woman sold securities, stocks and investments in order to purchase $459,427 worth of gold, as suggested by someone who claimed to be a McAfee employee, police said in the arrest warrant.

In several meetings with a courier believed to be working with the scammers, the woman handed over the gold along with cash and Apple gift cards, the arrest warrant said, noting the woman said she paid a total of $496,000.

"It should be noted that the investigators and I are aware, through our collective training and experience, of these types of scams, which are commonly referred to as 'phishing email scams,'" Beattie wrote in the arrest warrant.

Beattie continued:

"Typically, these scams involve a fake invoice designed to trick users into clicking malicious links or calling a fictitious customer support number to cancel a fictitious service subscription and obtain a 'refund.' The customer service representative will provide a link giving them remote access to the victim's computer. Scammers will then typically instruct the victim to log into their bank account.

"The scammer is able to utilize the inspect element feature within the Chrome (web browser) development tools to edit the HTML on the bank's web page to add a fake incoming wire transfer for the amount they specify and/or change the values in the account balances to further their scam.

"The scammers typically manipulate the victims by using fear, blame, and panic, into believing that their refunds are for more money than intended and deposited into their bank accounts. This prompts the victims to send the scammer money they never received or make the victim feel that they are... indebted to the scammer."

After the woman's son found out about the payments, the woman went to police and reported the scam, the arrest warrant said.

Greenwich officers then attempted to lure a courier to Greenwich for a fourth meeting under the belief that the woman would provide a sealed envelope containing $30,000, the arrest warrant said.

On Jan. 2, police set up a meeting with the courier in Cos Cob. A man, later identified as Lin, was stopped and brought to police headquarters for questioning, according to the arrest warrant.

Lin told police he was "asked to pick up a package in Greenwich" by a friend, and that he didn't know what the package was, the arrest warrant said.

The warrant noted that Lin cooperated with investigators and allowed them to look through his cellphone. Investigators analyzed text conversations and photos, according to the warrant.

"It is reasonable to conclude that Lin is a knowing co-conspirator in the crime under investigation, that he has done cash pickups in the past, and that he was aware of what he was doing in Greenwich," Beattie wrote in his arrest warrant. "That the contents of his phone are evidence of his true involvement and contradictory to the statements he made during his interview."

Lin was arraigned in Stamford Superior Court on Monday.

According to Greenwich Time, Lin's public defender, Maya Sparks, said she did not see Lin "as being the mastermind of this scheme."

Lin is being held on a $250,000 bond. His next court appearance is set for March 18.