Scammer Targeting The Elderly In Albany Finally Behind Bars

Scams have become more and more commonplace as the years go by. Obviously, the idea of scamming someone out of their money is nothing new, but with the advent of the internet they've become easier to pull off than ever before.

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The elderly are always a common target, and one scammer in Upstate New York showed why we need to raise awareness of these scams to everyone.

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Running the Scam

Recently, 33 year-old Devin Zielinski was sentenced to up to six years in state prison for his (successful) attempt to scam an 87 year-old Albany man out of every penny he owned. Zielinski worked alongside Amber Diacetis, another Albany resident.

Diacetisly met the victim online, and convinced him to allow Diacetis and Zielinski to become his live-in caretakers. While working with him, they convinced the victim to allow them to handle his finances, around $3,526 a month from Pension and $2,138 a month from Social Security. You can imagine how that went.

How to Handle Scams Like This

In the end, the perpetrators made out with $338,000 in pension and Social Security income and $230,000 in cash from the victim. This is terrifying for anyone, but it could happen at any time.

The most important lesson is to trust who you give access of your money to. There are a lot of bad actors who will try to take advantage of those less fortunate than they are, but if you ever get a gut feeling, talk to those closest to you, and get insight on what may or may not be a scam. If you feel you are the victim of one, reach out to the New York Attorney General's office at 1-800-771-7755 or their phone scam webpage.