Police arrest alleged scammers in Larchmont cash pickup sting

The scam collapsed when a 75-year-old Larchmont woman grew suspicious of a caller who told her to withdraw $25,000 to fix a supposed hacked phone. Instead of handing over the cash, she called a neighbor, and that quick decision set off a police sting that ended with two arrests in Westchester County.

Police said the woman was first contacted by suspects claiming to be Bank of America representatives. They told her her phone had been hacked and that the only way to solve the problem was to pull cash from her account. The woman said she initially believed the call because it appeared to come through Apple support and included names that made the pitch sound legitimate, but she still felt uneasy enough to seek help before any money was lost.

That pause mattered. After the neighbor alerted police, officers guided the woman through follow-up calls to arrange the pickup. According to police, the suspects showed up Monday afternoon in Larchmont, with one man collecting the cash while another waited in a getaway car. Officers moved in and arrested both men after the handoff.

Police identified the suspects as Qin Lin, 37, of Staten Island, and Zhonglin Luo, 45, of Brooklyn. Both were charged with third-degree grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fifth-degree conspiracy. Larchmont Police Chief Chris McNerney said these crimes are not random and are aimed at elderly victims because scammers think they are vulnerable.

The case fits a larger pattern that has sharpened across the region and nationwide. Westchester County authorities warned earlier this year about AI-powered kidnapping scams that use fake child voices to create panic, and the Federal Trade Commission has said scammers increasingly impersonate trusted businesses and government agencies to manufacture emergencies. The commission reported that from 2020 to 2024, older adults reporting losses of $10,000 or more in these schemes rose more than fourfold, while reports of losses over $100,000 rose nearly sevenfold.

The warning signs in this case were plain: a caller claiming to be from a major bank, a demand for urgency, and instructions to move cash rather than protect an account. The safest first move is to hang up, verify the request through a known bank number, and contact a trusted family member, neighbor or police before any money leaves the account. The Larchmont case showed how fast a scam can unravel when someone stops and asks for help.