The Pop-Up Gave Them a Phone Number: Three Couriers Sentenced in a $10 Million Fake Microsoft Scam

That phone call is where a $10 million scheme started. Now three of the people who showed up at victims' front doors to collect the cash are headed to federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on October 30, 2026 that Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann sentenced three Chinese nationals for their roles in a computer "pop-up" scam aimed at elderly victims. According to the government, more than 50 victims across 19 states lost more than $10,000,000. You can read the U.S. Attorney's Office release on the sentencings.

Who got what?

Here's the scorecard, per the release:

• Lei Bao, 24, of New York: 30 months in prison and $377,591 in restitution, sentenced October 20, 2026. Bao worked as a courier and made several cash pick-ups from victims. On at least five occasions, she also hauled suitcases full of stolen cash from Philadelphia to Los Angeles to hand off to other members of the conspiracy.
• Yankun Jiang, 26, of State College, Pennsylvania: 84 months in prison and $1,267,122 in restitution, sentenced October 22, 2026. Jiang started as a courier and worked his way up to a key supervisor of the couriers. He collected cash from the other couriers, packaged it and coordinated delivery to Los Angeles.
• Hanlin Yang, 26, of State College, Pennsylvania: 24 months in prison and $400,800 in restitution, sentenced October 23, 2026. Yang traveled to the homes of at least six victims to pick up cash.

Seven years for managing the couriers. That's not nothing.

So where do the phones come in?

The press release talks about pop-ups and fake cops at the door. But the indictment fills in the middle part, and the middle part is all phone. Here's how the grand jury described it in the indictment against Jiang and Yang (Case No. 4:24-cr-00043):

• A pop-up, supposedly from "Microsoft," told the victim the computer had been "hacked." The pop-up gave a phone number to call.
• When the victim called, a member of the conspiracy picked up and spun a false story. Often it was that the victim's bank account was "not secure" and the money needed to move.
• During the calls, the scammers kept feeding victims reasons, all false, to pull out cash. Per the indictment, several phone calls were typically exchanged between the conspirators and each victim.
• Victims were told to keep quiet and to tell bank tellers the cash was for "home remodeling."
• Then they were told a "federal agent" or federal "Marshal" would come by to pick up the money and keep it safe. They even got a "code word" the "agent" would say at the door.
• The "agents" were couriers.

So yeah. The pop-up is the hook, but the phone is where the con actually happens. The couriers are just the last mile.

Why should you care?

Look, I know nobody reading TCPA.com is running fake Microsoft pop-ups. I hope. But here's the thing ...

Every scam like this makes consumers a little less willing to pick up the phone or call a number they don't recognize. That hurts every legit business that depends on phone contact. When people learn that "the bank is calling" or "tech support is calling" might be a con, your real outreach takes the hit too.

And notice who went to prison here: couriers. Not the guy on the phone. Prosecutors are going after every link in the chain, including the folks who just picked up the cash or drove the suitcases. "I only moved the money" isn't working as a defense.

We wrote about the charges in this case earlier. This is what the sentencing chapter looks like.

What should you do right now?

If you have a legitimate call center, help desk or customer service line:

• Tell customers, loudly and often, that you will never ask them to pull out cash, buy gold or hand money to someone at the door.
• Never provide a phone number in a threatening pop-up. Real companies don't do that.
• Train your agents to spot callers who sound coached, rushed or scared, and give them a script for slowing things down.
• If your brand shows up in pop-ups or spoofed calls, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

And for the rest of us, talk to your parents. A pop-up with a phone number is never Microsoft. A "federal agent" picking up cash is never a federal agent. Hang up and call your child. Pro tip: write that on a sticky note and put it right on the monitor.

The case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia State College Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Lloyd is prosecuting.

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Chinese Nationals Sentenced for Conspiracy to Defraud Elderly Victims (Oct. 30, 2026).