Elderly Simsbury Woman Scammed Out Of $550K, All Of If Returned: Feds

U.S. Attorney's Office

SIMSBURY, CT — An elderly Simsbury resident had hundreds of thousands of dollars returned to them after falling victim to a scam, federal authorities said Friday.

Marc H. Silverman, acting U.S. attorney for Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New England, said Friday the U.S. Attorney’s Office has returned approximately $328,573 to the victim of the computer support scam.

A computer support scam is a type of fraud scheme where an alert appears on the victim’s computer imitating a customer support alert, tricking the victim into contacting the bad actors.

When the victim contacts the scammers, the scammers then take remote control of the computer and either directly transfer money from the victim to the scammers or trick the victim into sending money to the scammers.

According to the complaint out of Simsbury, in February 2024, an elderly woman who was tricked by a computer support scheme that mimicked Microsoft customer support transferred approximately $550,000 to the scammers in two wire transfers.

Within two days of the transfers, the victim and a family member reported the incident to the Simsbury Police Department, who then partnered with HSI to investigate the crime.

Fortunately, one of the wire transfers, in the amount of $221,000, was reversed by the bank and returned to the victim.

HSI traced the remaining money, totaling approximately $328,573, and seized it.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office then filed a civil asset forfeiture action to forfeit the money to the government, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and HSI then worked with the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) to return the money to the victim,

MLARS initiated the return of the money on Feb. 4.

Generally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office first forfeits the money, then returns it to the crime victims, so that the crime victims have clear title to the property without risk of further litigation.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to helping victims of crime, and civil asset forfeiture is a powerful tool that allows the government to return money to victims of fraud schemes,” said Silverman.

“As we continue to pursue criminal prosecution of the individuals responsible for this and other computer crimes, it is equally important to ensure that the government uses all of its tools to minimize, and in this case, undo, the financial impact these crimes have on victims. This case represents the best-case scenario, where nearly every dollar taken from the victim was returned to her. While it can be difficult to come forward and admit that you have been victimized by online scammers, know that federal law enforcement and our state and local partners stand ready to help you to the fullest extent possible.”

“Cyber scams run by foreign malign actors are becoming more common and more sophisticated every day,” said Krol. “The victim in this case contacted authorities quickly resulting in the recovery of most of her money by the bank and by HSI – a best-case scenario and rare result. It is essential for victims of these kinds of cybercrimes to come forward as soon as possible.

"We want the public to know that help is available and to reach out immediately if they’ve been victimized by international scammers.”

For more information, including steps to take if someone thinks they've been scammed, click on this link.