Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, Richmond Police recover $65K stolen from resident in online scam

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Richmond Commonwealth Attorney's Office and the Richmond Police Department have recovered $65,000 stolen from a resident in an online scam.

According to the office, on May 7, a Richmond resident was contacted online by a person who claimed to be from the Federal Trade Commission, who advised that the resident's identity and bank accounts had been compromised on the dark web.

The office said the scammer directed the resident to withdraw money from his bank and deposit it into another account for safekeeping. The resident reportedly complied.

When the resident felt he had been scammed, he contacted the Richmond Police Department, who, with the help of Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Joseph J. D'Onofrio, Jr., were able to freeze the account and recover the funds, returning them to the victim. Officials said the funds were roughly $65,000.

"Sadly, these types of scams are more and more complex and commonplace," Richmond's Commonwealth's Attorney, Colette McEachin, explained.  "Our office, in partnership with the Richmond Police Department, was able to make this victim whole and thwart the efforts of these online scammers.  I remind Richmond residents to be vigilant of online or text message scams and if something seems a little off, it probably is."