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Internet safety

Police & Fire
CT Man Started Explicit Chat With Girl On Day Before Being Sentenced For Sexual Assault: Feds CT Man Started Explicit Chat With Girl On Day Before Being Sentenced For Sexual Assault: Feds
CT Man Started Explicit Chat With Girl On Day Before Being Sentenced For Sexual Assault: Feds Following a months-long investigation, a 26-year-old Connecticut man faces federal child pornography charges after having sexually explicit conversations over the internet with a young girl, officials announced.  Hartford resident Marvyn Escobar was arrested on Tuesday, June 25 in connection with an investigation into child pornography, according to Hartford Police Lieutenant Aaron Boisvert.  According to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut, an investigation conducted by Hartford Police and the FBI found that Escobar used the Discord social media platform…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Ridgefield Police Officer Who Wore Many Hats During 27 Years On Job Calls It A Career Ridgefield Police Officer Who Wore Many Hats During 27 Years On Job Calls It A Career
Ridgefield Police Officer Who Wore Many Hats During 27 Years On Job Calls It A Career A 27-year-old police veteran in Fairfield County has retired after working as a well-known school resource and patrol officer and receiving numerous citations. Ridgefield Police Officer Luis Caba retired on Friday, Sept. 15 to lots of well wishes from co-workers and the public. Caba started his career with the Ridgefield Police Department in February 1997.  He served in the Patrol Division for 27 years. During his time as an, he wore many hats.  As a school resource officer, Caba was well respected by the students and staff.  He built lasting relationships with the school…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
CT Man Sentenced For Attempting To Engage In Sex With Minor CT Man Sentenced For Attempting To Engage In Sex With Minor
CT Man Sentenced For Attempting To Engage In Sex With Minor A 39-year-old man will spend a decade behind bars after being sentenced for attempting to coerce a teen in Connecticut he sought to have sex with and impregnate, authorities announced. New London County resident William Meier, of Norwich, was sentenced on Tuesday, Oct. 19 to 120 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a minor by using sexual media. Acting US Attorney Leonard C. Boyle said that in May 2020, Meier accessed a chatroom dedicated to teens on the Kik social messaging app and began chatting with an undercover …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Three Fairfield County Juveniles Charged In Online Child Porn Case, Police Say Three Fairfield County Juveniles Charged In Online Child Porn Case, Police Say
Three Fairfield County Juveniles Charged In Online Child Porn Case, Police Say Three Fairfield County juveniles have been arrested for alleged possession of child pornography and for harassment, among other charges. In January of 2021, the Monroe Police Department received a complaint that there was an Instagram account that was posting nude and inappropriate photos of Monroe youths, said  Lieutenant Kevin McKellick of the Monroe PD. In addition, the account holder also posted where each youth lived. The juvenile victim said she, along with others, was being harassed by this anonymous account holder.  "She complained that the accoun…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
New Alert For Scams Issued By Police In Fairfield County New Alert For Scams Issued By Police In Fairfield County
New Alert For Scams Issued By Police In Fairfield County It seems that every day a new scam is hitting the internet, and members of the Fairfield Police Department are offering tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. Many of the scams are common, but people still fall for them, Town of Fairfield Police Chief Robert Kalamaras said. Some common-sense reminders offered by the department include never give out personal or financial information to a person they do not know or whose identity cannot be verified. That includes Social Security numbers or credit card numbers.  Recently, Fairfield Police received a report regarding an elaborate scam t…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
CT Mom, 41, Tried Meeting With Teen Same Age As Her Own Child For Sex At PA Hotel, Feds Say CT Mom, 41, Tried Meeting With Teen Same Age As Her Own Child For Sex At PA Hotel, Feds Say
CT Mom, 41, Tried Meeting With Teen Same Age As Her Own Child For Sex At PA Hotel, Feds Say A 41-year-old mother of three from Connecticut is facing 14 years behind bars for her alleged attempts to have sex with a 14-year-old boy at a Pennsylvania hotel, authorities said. Sarah Norton, of Jewett City, a borough in New London County, met the teen while “gaming” online, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Norton then attempted to seduce the boy into engaging in sexually explicit contact through online messaging and cell phone conversations, Williams said. In late 2017, Norton traveled from her home in Connecticut to Pennsylvania to meet with the …

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by Nicole Acosta
News
Fairfield County Man Among 12 Charged In Undercover Sex Sting Fairfield County Man Among 12 Charged In Undercover Sex Sting
Fairfield County Man Among 12 Charged In Undercover Sex Sting The president of a financial institution and software engineer, as well as a Fairfield County resident, were among a dozen men who thought they were meeting a child for sex but instead, were arrested on the spot in an undercover New Jersey sting, authorities announced Tuesday, Oct. 27.  The 12 men in "Operation Spotlight" thought they were meeting up with children they'd met on various social media platforms, but instead, were arrested at various pre-arranged locations across Somerset County between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18, Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson and U.S. Attorney/District of …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
COVID-19: FBI Issues Alert For Fake Hiring Scams Targeting Individuals, Businesses COVID-19: FBI Issues Alert For Fake Hiring Scams Targeting Individuals, Businesses
Covid-19: FBI Issues Alert For Fake Hiring Scams Targeting Individuals, Businesses With millions of Americans looking for work or working from home due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, the FBI has seen an uptick in fake job and hiring scams from opportunistic cybercriminals. Fraudsters have been leveraging their purported positions as faux “employers” to persuade victims into believing they had a new job in an effort to steal their personal information or to get them to send money. According to the FBI, “fake job scams have existed for a long time but technology has made this scam easier and more lucrative. Cybercriminals now pose as legitimate employers by spo…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: School Closings Lead To Increased Risk Of Child Exploitation, FBI Warns COVID-19: School Closings Lead To Increased Risk Of Child Exploitation, FBI Warns
Covid-19: School Closings Lead To Increased Risk Of Child Exploitation, FBI Warns Due to school closings as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), children will most likely be spending more time online, which could put them at an increased position for exploitation, the FBI warns. Online sexual exploitation comes in many forms. Individuals may coerce victims into providing sexually explicit images or videos of themselves, often in compliance with offenders’ threats to post the images publicly or send the images to victims’ friends and family, the FBI said. Other offenders may make casual contact with children online, gain their trust, and introduce sexual conversa…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Accused Fairfield County Snapchat Hacker Busted With Child Porn, Police Say Accused Fairfield County Snapchat Hacker Busted With Child Porn, Police Say
Accused Fairfield County Snapchat Hacker Busted With Child Porn, Police Say A 26-year-old Northern Fairfield County man is facing a host of charges for allegedly hacking into multiple women’s Snapchat accounts, possessing and disseminating child pornography, police said. The Southbury Police Department received a complaint from a 25-year-old woman in December 2018 who alleged that she was being harassed on the social media platform by someone.  Police said someone logged into her Snapchat account and sent her her own photographs with a short video that contained inappropriate materials. Investigators said that through the use of several search warrants to the…

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by Zak Failla
News
NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website
NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website Men from Connecticut and New York are among those charged in the takedown of the largest Darknet child pornography website. Jong Woo Son, 23, a South Korean national, was indicted this week for his operation of Welcome To Video, the largest child exploitation market by volume of content, officials said. Son has also been charged and convicted in South Korea and is currently in custody serving his sentence in South Korea.   An additional 337 site users residing in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jers…

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by Zak Failla
News
FBI Reports Rise In Sextortion Of Children FBI Reports Rise In Sextortion Of Children
FBI Reports Rise In Sextortion Of Children Sextortion is defined as a criminal act that occurs when someone demands something of value, usually money, images of a sexual nature or sexual favors, from another person. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there has been a rapid increase in the solicitation of these incidents from minors over the internet. The FBI reports that children ages 10 through 17 have been increasingly sexually exploited and ‘sextorted’ by internet predators. Fortunately, there are several steps parents can take to ensure the safety of their children when browsing the Internet and engaging in activit…

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by Valerie Musson
Lifestyle
These Are Most Hacked Passwords According To Brand-New Report These Are Most Hacked Passwords According To Brand-New Report
These Are Most Hacked Passwords According To Brand-New Report Despite the prevalence of online hackers and the concerns of cybersecurity breaches, many continue to use simple and easy to guess passwords that have led to data breaches, according to a new report. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) first “cyber survey” determined the most commonly used passwords that were received in data breaches. According to the report, the most commonly used passwords that have been hacked are: 123456 (23.2 million); 123456789 (7.7 million); qwerty (3.8 million); password (3.6 million); 111111 (3.1 million); 12345678; abc123; 1234567;  password1, a…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
YouTube Bans Videos Of Dangerous Pranks, Stunts YouTube Bans Videos Of Dangerous Pranks, Stunts
YouTube Bans Videos Of Dangerous Pranks, Stunts Google-owned video hosting website YouTube is cracking down on users who upload videos involving dangerous stunts or pranks. While not all stunts and pranks are dangerous, those that are will no longer be permitted for YouTube hosting, as per the site’s updated community guidelines. Now, users who upload videos involving this type of content have two months before YouTube will issue a “strike” against the offending account. Of course, content that violated these new guidelines will be removed even before the grace period ends. From eating tide pods to playing with fire or putting someone i…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Surge In Phishing Email Scams Reported By State Police Cyber Crime Investigations Unit Surge In Phishing Email Scams Reported By State Police Cyber Crime Investigations Unit
Surge In Phishing Email Scams Reported By State Police Cyber Crime Investigations Unit State Police in Connecticut are warning residents not to bite the bait as phishing schemes make the rounds in the area. The Connecticut State Police Cyber Crime Investigations Unit issued an alert following a rash of phishing email scams that have impacted local residents. Police said that phishing is “when a scammer attempts to contact you through phone calls, emails, text messages or copycat websites in an attempt to get you to provide them with either money or valuable personal information. In cases where personal information is obtained, scammers can use your information to not only ste…

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by Zak Failla
News
Man Admits Paying Minor To Perform Sex Acts Over Skype Man Admits Paying Minor To Perform Sex Acts Over Skype
Man Admits Paying Minor To Perform Sex Acts Over Skype A 43-year-old man is set to spend time behind bars after admitting to using technology to solicit and pay a teenager in Connecticut to perform sexual acts for him over the Internet. William Gauvin, of Andover, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography for soliciting a 17-year-old boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct over Skype. He later paid the teen more than $3,000 using PayPal. The hometown of the teenager has not been released. Between October 2016 and March last year, Gauvin, using the name “Will Wiggins,” solicited the teenager, John Durham,…

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by Zak Failla
News
CT College Student Sentenced For Enticing Young Boys To Engage In Sex Over Internet CT College Student Sentenced For Enticing Young Boys To Engage In Sex Over Internet
CT College Student Sentenced For Enticing Young Boys To Engage In Sex Over Internet A 24-year-old man attending college in Connecticut has been sentenced for enticing four boys to engage in sexual activities over the Internet. Travis McCoy has been sentenced to 156 months in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after pleading guilty in Hartford District Court over the summer to one count of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. From August 2015 through March last year, while attending college and living in New London, McCoy admitted to using Internet-based video chatting services such as Kik and Google Hangouts, as well as Internet-based gami…

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by Zak Failla
News
Disturbing 'Suicide Challenge' App Aimed At Teens Sparks Warning Disturbing 'Suicide Challenge' App Aimed At Teens Sparks Warning
Disturbing 'Suicide Challenge' App Aimed At Teens Sparks Warning A suicide “game” involving a person dubbed “Momo" targeting teens on a prominent messaging app is sparking concern. “Momo” has become a viral challenge that asks people to add a contact on the WhatsApp app, and they are then encouraged to commit self-harm or suicide. The “game” has spread nationwide. According to Fox News, police in Mexico say that “Momo” started in a Facebook group, where people are encouraged to make contact with an unknown telephone number.  “Computer Crime Investigators from the Mexican State of Tabasco warn that the game is a ‘new challenge’ aimed at children and…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Motorcycles Up For Sale In Fairfield County Stolen, Police Say Motorcycles Up For Sale In Fairfield County Stolen, Police Say
Motorcycles Up For Sale In Fairfield County Stolen, Police Say Two Fairfield County motorcycle owners had their bikes ripped off by a man posing a potential buyer in two separate incidents on Wednesday. According to Trumbull Police Lt. Keith Golding, a New Haven resident, and an Orange resident reported to police that their motorcycles were stolen after bringing them to Trumbull to sell. Both sellers placed ads on OfferUp each looking to sell their off-road type motorcycles. They were each contacted by a man who claimed he was interested in purchasing the vehicles. They each agreed to set up a meet at two separate addresses, one on Wilson Avenue and th…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Village Board Of Ethics Chair In Area Faces Child Porn Charge Village Board Of Ethics Chair In Area Faces Child Porn Charge
Village Board Of Ethics Chair In Area Faces Child Porn Charge The chairman of the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Ethics has been busted with alleged child pornography. Mamaroneck Charles Mitchell, 51, has been arrested on charges related to child pornography, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr., announced on Friday afternoon, following a months-long investigation. According to the felony complaint, on July 2, Mitchell was in possession of a video on his computer of a girl between the ages of 10 and 12 masturbating. Mitchell went on to make the video available to share with others on a computer network. The arrest comes followin…

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by Zak Failla