Local Resident Nearly Lost $426K In Email Scam: Police

STAMFORD, CT — A Stamford homebuyer nearly lost $426,000 after wiring the money as part of an email scam, the Stamford Police Department said.

On March 10, police received a call from a Stamford resident and a local realtor who reported they fell victim to a wire fraud, police said in a news release.

The resident was looking to purchase a home in Fairfield County, but someone infiltrated their email chain and tricked the resident into wiring $426,000 to a fraudulent account on March 8, police said.

SPD Investigator Michael Stempien, who is also a task force officer with the FBI Cyber Task Force out of New Haven, found that the victim filed a complaint with the Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3) with the FBI, and that they were working to freeze the account.

The FBI's IC3 team recovered all but $1,000 of the money, and returned the funds to the victim within days so he could move forward with purchasing a home.

"It is extremely important that these types of scams are reported to the banks and law enforcement ASAP," police said in a news release. "We are very pleased with the outcome in this case, but unfortunately other victims are often not as lucky as the suspects move funds before the victims even realize they have been scammed. It is good practice to always verbally confirm the bank account information is correct with your realtor."

Anyone who is a victim or knows a victim of a cyber fraud should report it to the IC3.