In the weeks before last Christmas, Gussie Redding, of Central Islip, received an emailed invoice purportedly from an anti-malware service provider just days after canceling her subscription.

Alarmed, the 83-year-old retiree called the number listed on the bill to dispute the $391.41 charge. She handed over remote access to her computer to help the company issue a refund. Instead, the fraudsters spoofed fake records to persuade Redding that $40,000 belonging to the cybersecurity business had been mistakenly deposited into her own bank account.

"They started to threaten me, saying that I was now taking money from them, that I would get in trouble, that I could go to jail," she said.

Frightened, Redding went to her local Chase bank in Hauppauge, withdrew $20,000 in cash and handed off the

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