Police: New York man scammed Dartmouth resident out of $30,000 in cash

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WLNE) — A New York man has been arrested in connection with a scam to defraud a Dartmouth resident out of $30,000 in cash.

Bishi Zhu, 29, of Brooklyn, NY, was arrested and charged with attempts to commit a crime and conspiracy (larceny by pretense).

The victim in the scam contacted police on September 12 to report the incident, which started when they received a pop-up message on their computer stating that they had been hacked and needed to contact “Apple Security” at a provided phone number.

A person claiming to be from Apple Security told the victim that their bank accounts had been compromised and their account was used in illegal activities.

A person claiming to be from their bank contacted the victim and told them that their money would need to be removed and placed into a new account immediately.

The victim was instructed to remove cash in two separate $15,000 withdrawals on two separate days, and that a representative from the bank would arrive to physically pick up the cash.

An individual arrived on both days and obtained the money from the victim, and on the second day, the victim notified Dartmouth police.

A reverse sting operation was conducted with the assistance of detectives and the Community Impact Unit.

Eight hours later, a male, identified as Zhu, arrived at an undisclosed location to collect more cash from the victim and was placed under arrest.