2 days ago
Men told woman her PayPal account was hacked, needed $55K for ‘secured account'
Two men were arrested after trying to swindle a Newnan woman out of thousands of dollars.
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In April, a woman came to the Newnan Police Department to report a possible fraud incident.
The woman told officers she received a text message from someone she believed to be PayPal.
The message stated that someone hacked into her account and tried to transfer $49,500 from her account. The victim said she called the number that texted her, and 'PayPal' transferred her to their fraud department.
The woman then made contact with a man named 'John.'
John told her she needed to create a secure account that was 'essentially unhackable.' John then told her to go to the bank and withdraw $25,000.
According to officials, the bank did put a hold on her money but released it after three days.
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John then told the victim not to meet him at the Walmart on Bullsboro Drive to hand-deliver the $25,000 so he could create the account on her behalf and start her a 'secure account.'
The victim then met with the person she believed to be John and gave him the cash. She told police she was able to see what vehicle the man got into and said John tried to contact her again the following day to give him another $30,000.
Newnan investigators told the woman not to withdraw any more money from her bank account and to stop communicating with John.
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Officers later arrested Jiehui Yu and Sai Goutham Bandari in connection with the case.
Yu was charged with purchase/possession and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
Channel 2 Action News is working to learn Bandari's list of charges.
