2 suspects arrested for 2 separate 'courier scams' that cost Maryland victims over $700,000

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. - Prince George's County Police are pleading with the public to take financial scams seriously after a "courier scam" ended with two Maryland residents losing $40,000 and nearly $700,000 in two separate scam incidents. 

What we know:

25-year-old Parmveer Parmveer of Grove City, Ohio, was charged in connection with a scam that originated as a pop-up alert on the victim’s laptop. The pop-up urged the victims to contact Apple security using the number provided. According to police, multiple scammers communicated with the victims by posing as security personnel and also a representative from the Federal Trade Commission. 

The scammers convinced the victims their money was not secure and to withdraw cash from their bank account and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM. The scammers also convinced the victims to take out more money and purchase gold from a local dealer. Scammers arranged for a carrier to pick up the gold from the victim’s home multiple times.

47-year-old Gyoung Lee of Flushing, New York, was charged in a similar, but unrelated case. In a similar fashion, this case began when the victim received a pop-up on his computer advising him to contact Microsoft Support to discuss a security issue using a provided number. 

The scammers posed as a tech support agent as well as a representative from the US Treasury Department. In order to secure his money, the victim was convinced to make multiple cash withdrawals from his bank account and to then hand over the money to a carrier who picked up the cash from his home. 

Suspects linked to carrier scams in PG County

Local perspective:

One of the victims was a Maryland man who had just retired. He asked not to be identified but is willing to speak about his experience being the victim of a "Courier Scam," hoping it will help others even if it's not easy to talk about. 

"Outrage. Uh. Humiliation. There's a lot that's going on for me," said the victim, describing some of his emotions. He also hopes to turn this unfortunate incident around. 

Prince George's County Police are thankful for his work. In the midst of being scammed, the victim says he realized what was happening after speaking with a fried and reported it. His actions helped PGPD set up a sting that led to the arrest of Gyoung Lee from Flushing, New York. 

The victim says he was paying taxes when, all of a sudden, he got a pop-up on his computer, advising him to contact Microsoft Support for a security issue. A phone number was provided. It turned out that his banking had also been compromised. The victim also believes his cell phone was also compromised.

"Very persuasive, police and conversing people posing as polished authorities from my bank, Microsoft and the Treasury Department, persuaded me to put money risk while pretending that I was actually safeguarding the money, and things lost from there," said the victim, describing his interactions with the thieves.

Dig deeper:

"They create a sense of urgency to withdrawal funds and move money and there was an understanding or agreement that a courier will come to his residence and pick up the money all under the understanding that these were government officials assisting to security his funds," said Sgt. John Quarless. 

Quarless is with the PGPD Financial Crimes Unit. He tells FOX 5 thieves were able to steal around $40,000 from the victim this way and thought they were going to make a second pick-up, but when the suspect arrived to the victim's home, he was instead greeted by Prince George's County Police investigators. 

"Once they build that trust, they continue to do it until they can't get any more out of you," said Quarless who advises people to not give any personal information to strangers. He also said, "Don't rush. Hang up. Speak to a friend, call the police, uh, and just process what's going on. Banks are not going to make you move your money and give to out of accounts."

What you can do:

If you think you are a victim or know someone who may need help, you can contact the PGPD Financial Crimes Unit by calling 301-516-1464 or sending an email to policefinancialunit@co.pg.md.us.

In the two cases, the victims handed over large amounts of money and gold bars to scammers posing as carriers.