On April 5, 2024, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received notification of a scam involving unknown suspects collecting large amounts of currency from a victim in Hagerstown, MD.

The incident began on March 30, 2024, when the victim received a notification on her tablet that one of her accounts was hacked. She called the number supplied with the notification and became involved in a sophisticated scam designed to defraud her of thousands of dollars.

On April 1st and 2nd, after multiple calls and hours of persuasion, the victim was convinced to withdraw large amounts of currency that was later picked up by suspects impersonating federal law enforcement officers. Following these exchanges, the victim realized she was being scammed and contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to report the crime.

On April 10th, while the incident was under investigation, the suspects attempted to arrange another large cash exchange. An operation was then planned and executed by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit. The operation was conducted over several hours, with the cooperation of the victim’s bank. Ultimately, two suspects arrived at the victim’s residence believing they were going to receive over $60,000 from the victim. Instead, they were arrested, had their vehicle impounded, and went to jail.

The suspects were identified as Jinghai FANG, 52, of New York, and Binbin GE, 26, of New York. FANG and GE are currently being held at the Washington County Detention Center.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind you to take three steps to protect yourself from this type of criminal activity.

1. Never call a telephone number or use a link provided in an unsolicited text, notification, or email. If you receive unsolicited correspondence from anyone requesting you contact them, go online and find the business or organization’s public website or telephone number and only communicate with them using those publicly accessible and verified methods.

2. Trust your suspicions. If something feels wrong, it is wrong. Credible businesses or organizations will not:

• contact you outside of their publicized hours,

• require transactions in cash,

• require or request that you purchase gift cards for any reason,

• or require you to engage in unusual security procedures such as staying on the phone with a representative for hours so they can listen to your banking transactions or take photographs to prove identity/location.

3. Before making any significant financial transaction at the request of a third party, contact a family member or friend and see what they think. Scammers rely on lies, pressure, and manipulation to trick you into giving away your hard-earned money. A trusted person who hasn’t been exposed to the scammers’ tactics may provide the clear-minded perspective you need to avoid becoming a victim.