NEWTON, N.J. (Sussex County) —A New York man has been arrested following a more than two-year investigation into a computer-related gift card scam that cost a Newton victim approximately $5,000, according to police.
The investigation began in April 2024 when a victim reported receiving an alert on his laptop claiming that his computer had been compromised and directing him to contact a fraud prevention service.
The victim told police that after calling the number provided in the alert, he spoke with someone who falsely identified himself as a fraud prevention specialist, authorities said.
During the scam, the victim was instructed to purchase Home Depot gift cards and provide the card information to the suspect. The victim lost approximately $5,000, according to police.
Detectives conducted a follow-up investigation that traced the redemption of the gift cards to locations in Massachusetts.
Police said continued investigative efforts led to the identification of Lixi Wang of Flushing, New York, as a suspect. A criminal complaint warrant was issued for Wang, and he was entered into the National Crime Information Center as a wanted person.
Wang was located by the Nassau County Police Department on July 29 and extradited to New Jersey with assistance from the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, police said.
He was processed on the outstanding criminal complaint warrant and lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility pending further court proceedings.
Newton police reminded residents that legitimate financial institutions, government agencies and fraud prevention services will not instruct people to purchase gift cards and provide the card numbers or access codes to protect or recover money.
Anyone who receives such a request should end the communication and report the incident to law enforcement, police said.
