On June 10, 2025. the Placer County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) in Auburn, California arrested 36-year-old San Gabriel, California resident Yunming Fan for serving as a money mule for a PayPal refund scam, where:
- The victim, in this case an elderly female, received an email claiming she owed thousands of dollars due to a computer error related to an online payment app.
- The scammers, when contacted over the phone, will demand the victim pay the money back by withdrawing it from her bank account and handing it off to a designated courier, or money mule.
Fan was arrested and charged with conspiracy and theft by false pretenses. Detectives have also indicated that Fan may have also been serving as a money mule for additional scams.