Police announced they have arrested a suspect after an elderly woman from Vernon Hills was tricked into delivering a combined $27,000 in cash to people pretending to be federal agents.
Vernon Hills Deputy Police Chief Shannon Holubetz said an elderly victim reported on August 8 of having been deceived into delivering money over two separate occasions to persons claiming to be agents of the federal government.
The complex scam began in late July when the victim received a fraudulent email saying there had been an unauthorized withdrawal from her bank account.
The victim was prompted by a pop-up message on her computer to call an unknown phone number, Holubetz said.
She did so and spoke with a man who claimed her Social Security number had been used to purchase guns out of state.
The man said $20,000 in cash was required to further an investigation by the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Treasury.
Holubetz said the scammer also provided the victim’s personal details, including her bank account balances, and promised the funds would be returned at a later date.
The scammer instructed the victim to use a cover story in the event her cash withdrawal was questioned by staff at her bank.
The victim handed over $20,000 cash to a man who met her in her Vernon Hills home’s driveway.
Holubetz said the man provided the victim with a code word to verify his identity and assured the victim that her money would be delivered to the Social Security Administration.
The victim contacted the scammers a second time the next day and was instructed to send an additional $7,000 cash via a delivery service to an address in California.
She complied and the money was delivered. All phone numbers the victim had been communicating through were then deactivated.
The victim was able to provide investigators with a detailed description of the man who had picked up the $20,000, as well as photos of his vehicle and the license plate, Holubetz said.
The man was identified as Dmytro Kariev, 54, of Wheeling, through follow-up investigation and surveillance.
“Scams of this type are all too common and far too costly,” Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick L. Kreis said.
“We urge the public to be skeptical when interacting with unknown parties and ask anyone who believes they have been targeted to report the incident to their local law enforcement,” Kreis said.
Kariev was arrested on September 2 and has been charged with theft, a Class 2 felony.
He has been released and is scheduled for a First Appearance Court hearing at the Lake County Courthouse on Tuesday.
The Vernon Hills Police Department was assisted in the investigation by members of the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force (NORTAF) Burglary Task Force.
The investigation is ongoing and detectives believe others may have fallen victim to the scam, Holubetz said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Vernon Hills Police Department.