AG warns of email scam targeting older residents

At least three people in New Hampshire have been persuaded by scammers to put $20,000 or more in a package, tape it up, and hand it over to someone posing as a bank employee or federal official, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

It announced Monday that Rachel Chen, 25, of North Andover, Massachusetts, was indicted on multiple charges in June for her alleged role in thefts that targeted older residents. Chen worked with others, according to the Attorney General’s Office, but no one else has been charged. The case remains under investigation.

Each of the three people scammed of $62,000 in total fell victim to a similar scam, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

In one case, an individual identified only as D.L, 75, of Nashua, received an email purporting to be from Microsoft warning her that her financial account had been compromised. D.L. called the number provided and was told to put $20,000 in cash inside a taped-up box and give it to an FBI representative who would come to her house.

The purported FBI representative matched Chen’s description, according to the release.

A similar scam led a person identified as E.B., 87, whose address was given as Grafton County, to hand over a box with $20,000, the Attorney General’s Office said.

In that case, E.B. received an email purportedly from “Apple Support” telling her $20,000 had been taken from her financial account. E.B. received instructions on how to deposit $20,000 into a cryptocurrency ATM, according to the release, but ultimately handed a package with the money over to a person who appeared at her house.

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That person was Chen, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

In a third case, a 60-year-old identified as J.S., of Allenstown, was told to put $22,000 in cash in a box by a man who identified himself as a bank employee, according to the Attorney General’s Office. Chen then went to J.S.’s home, gave a fake name, and took the money, the office said.

Chen faces up to 7½ to 14 years in prison and a $4,000 fine on each charge.

In announcing the indictments, the Attorney General’s Office urged the public to report cases of elder abuse or financial exploitation to their local police department or the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-949-0470.

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Senior reporter Annmarie Timmins is a New Hampshire native who covered state government, courts, and social justice issues for the Concord Monitor for 25 years. During her time with the Monitor, she won a Nieman Fellowship to study journalism and mental health courts at Harvard for a year. She has taught journalism at the University of New Hampshire and writing at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications. Email atimmins@newhampshirebulletin.com. New Hampshire Bulletin is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. To learn more, visit newhampshirebulletin.com.