On January 10, 2025, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office in Vero Beach, Florida arrested Indian national Rakeshabhai Patel on a $1 million bond after he stole over $150,000 from a 77-year-old woman in a Microsoft technical support scam that began on February 5, 2024. During the scam,
- the victim ran across a fake virus popup, urging her to call the Indian call center associated with the scam.
- the scammer transferred the call to a Patel, who posed as a government official and told the victim to purchase $72,904.11 in gold from SD Bullion, put it in a lockbox and meet him at a CVS Pharmacy.
Police arrested Patel on one count of taking $50,000 or more from a person 65 years or older. Police have also noted that he rented a 2017 gray Hyundai sedan from Turo and that the victim lost a total of $156,256 from two separate Indian scammers, both being arrested as a result.