McCANDLESS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A local woman who was scammed out of $60,000 helped the FBI and McCandless police set up a sting operation that led to the arrest of Changsong Huang on Perry Highway.
Huang was arrested Oct. 23 and faces charges of felony theft and conspiracy counts.
The alleged scheme began when a pop-up appeared on the victim’s phone falsely claiming her identity had been stolen to purchase child sexual abuse material.
When she called the number displayed on her screen for help, a caller impersonating a Federal Trade Commission official told her to make several transactions totaling thousands of dollars in cash to track the alleged identity thief.
The victim’s first transaction occurred at a Sheetz convenience store off Perry Highway, where she handed a man a box containing $25,000 she had withdrawn from PNC Bank. A second handoff took place at a nearby Dollar General, where she turned over a box containing $35,000.
After watching the man walk down the road with her money, she realized she was being scammed.
The woman went to the McCandless Police Department, which coordinated with federal authorities to launch a sting operation.
Christopher Giordano, an assistant special agent with the FBI Pittsburgh criminal program, said the victim agreed to assist law enforcement.
“I think reality really finally kicked in and said, ‘Hey, something doesn’t seem right about this.’ And then she contacted the local police, who in turn contacted the FBI,” Giordano said. He noted that the victim was fully cooperative with investigators. “Luckily, we had a very cooperative victim that, to be honest, wanted her money back and wanted this person to be put to justice, so they did everything that we asked.”
To trap the scammer, the FBI provided $30,000 in fake cash for a third handoff. The victim went to PNC Bank to make the withdrawal while the scammers monitored her through her phone as she placed the cash and receipt inside an Amazon box and taped it shut.
On Oct. 23, the scammers instructed her to meet at Kool Cones on Perry Highway, where she handed the box to a man. The suspect then walked across Perry Highway toward Adzema Pharmacy and entered a Toyota Sienna.
FBI agents watching the interaction stopped the vehicle just down the road at an AAMCO on Perry Highway. Officers found the box of fake cash visible in the back seat and arrested Changsong Huang.
Following his arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took custody of Huang, who is being held at a facility in Cambria County.
Speaking about phone scams generally, Giordano emphasized that fraudulent schemes affect a wide demographic.
“They don’t care how old you are, what your gender is, or what your race is. They target everyone,” Giordano said.
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