Asian-American Businesses Targeted; Bus Passengers Help Injured Woman
PHILLIPS: They're being terrorized by cybercriminals. Hundreds of Asian-American business owners have gotten death threats if they don't send money to extortionists phoning from China through an Internet calling service. And some of them have lost thousands of dollars in the scam. Here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.</s>ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The caller speaks in Mandarin Chinese.</s>CHERNOFF: He's threatening to kill Asian-American business people and their families if they don't wire at least $10,000 to China.</s>JAMESON PON, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE GANG TASK FORCE: One of the victims told me that they threatened to cut the limbs off their children in front of them.</s>CHERNOFF: This businesswoman, who would not identify herself on camera, got one of the calls.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He asked for money and I was very, very scared. He started to say that he was a mafia, and he said that his members were around my office.</s>CHERNOFF: She did not pay. But San Francisco police say others have.</s>HENRY SETO, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE GANG TASK FORCE: It's possibly over $100,000 that were wired over to China.</s>CHERNOFF: Police are investigating about 50 cases in San Francisco, and there are several hundred in the Bay area. In fact, according to the FBI, the scam is hitting Asian communities nationwide from California to Texas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Police believe the extortionists, based overseas, are getting names and numbers through Chinese Yellow Pages on the Internet, and they're using Internet phone service to reach their targets. This woman in Maryland says an acquaintance evacuated his home after receiving one of the calls.</s>CORRINA SHEN, BUSINESS OWNER: He got really scared and didn't know what to do, and he took his family out and moved to the hotel.</s>CHERNOFF: But the FBI says not one of the threats has actually been carried out. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, there's only one word to describe Florida, wet. The state's getting more heavy rain today. Reynolds Wolf watching it all for us in the CNN weather center. We're going on three hardcore days.</s>REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know, and this is the Sunshine State, right? I think it's what they call it.</s>PHILLIPS: What happened to that?</s>WOLF: Yes, we're going to talk to the board of tourism and see what the story is. But right now, the story is all wet.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, yesterday we started a new segment right here in the NEWSROOM devoted to the good news that comes in every day but that sometimes gets overshadowed by the bad news. Well, today's story is from James Lynch of CNN affiliate KCPQ in Seattle. We want to warn you, though, just the first part is pretty hard to watch, but stick with it, and you'll see why we loved this so much.</s>JAMES LYNCH, KCPQ-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It happened May of last year, just before 11:00 in the morning. It was an average day on Metro bus number 3684 on Route 18. That all changed near the corner of 15th Avenue West and West Armor Street, when this man got on the bus. He looks like a normal guy until he pays his fare. Then out of nowhere, he punches the victim, Jeannie (ph), square in the face.</s>CHARLES CAPIZANO, BUS PASSENGER: You could just see the force. Oh, my God.</s>LYNCH: Look again. Witnesses say the man shouted, "The sick must die" and let punches fly at an elderly defenseless woman.</s>CAPIZANO: His initial attack was just -- I mean, she didn't know what hit her, and she was -- she got hit pretty good.</s>LYNCH: Charles Capizano was sitting in the rear of the bus. He saw what happened and wasted no time to get to the front of the bus and stop the attack.</s>CAPIZANO: This guy was attacking everyone in his sight, threatening everyone in his sight, saying, "The sick must die. God told me the sick must die."</s>LYNCH: Capizano eventually had to grab the man and hold him back.</s>CAPIZANO: This guy is telling me to get off him, get off him, get off him, and I'm holding him. I have a leg wrapped underneath him, and the other guy next to me is helping hold him. And I believe that's when we were praying right there for him. And we're just waiting, and we're just holding him. I'm not getting go for nothing. This guy was strong.</s>DENISE GUBERNICK, BUS PASSENGER: He hit her with a full-force fist to the side of her head that snapped her sunglasses. Flew off her head.</s>LYNCH: Denise Gubernick was also on the bus and is counted among the heroes. While the men restrained the bad guy, Denise hugged, covered and protected.</s>GUBERNICK: I'm a mother, so my instinct is to protect, and I just jumped forward to hold her.</s>LYNCH: There were six heroes in all that day. Sheriff Sue Rahr awarded them all for meritorious service to the community.</s>SHERIFF SUE RAHR, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON: He walks onto the bus and</s>LYNCH: Jeannie (ph) was still too shaken to speak with us today for this story, but at the awards ceremony, she had this to say to her heroes. JEANNIE (ph),</s>ATTACKED ON BUS: It really restores my faith in humanity that these people did, in fact, join together and protect me, and I want to thank you all for what you did. God bless you.</s>LYNCH: And from one of her heroes, God bless her and all of us.</s>CAPIZANO: From what I understand is the guy had a mental past (ph), and to have someone out there that has that kind of ability to slip through the cracks is just...</s>PHILLIPS: It's a great point about those types slipping through the cracks. We're actually going to talk more about that later in the hour. Well, bad news turned into good news because of some pretty heroic bus passengers. Join us here in the NEWSROOM every day as we highlight such incredible stories and people. Well, your son or daughter leaving the nest? Graduating from college and starting a new job? And they'll need health insurance coverage. We'll find out what they should look for when taking the big step.