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Financial Crime

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How To Avoid Lottery, Prize Scams: You Didn’t Enter, But You 'Won'? How To Avoid Lottery, Prize Scams: You Didn’t Enter, But You 'Won'?
How To Avoid Lottery, Prize Scams: You Didn’t Enter, But You 'Won'? A surprise message says you hit the jackpot, but there’s a catch: you must pay a fee or hand over personal details to claim it.  That’s the hallmark of a lottery or prize scam—designed to separate you from your money and identity. These schemes often arrive by email, text, phone, or mail and lean on pressure tactics to force quick decisions.  Scammers frequently demand “taxes,” “processing,” or “shipping” upfront, or ask for sensitive data to “verify” you.  Legitimate lotteries do not require payment to release a prize, and you should never be asked for your Social Security…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
$5M Grandparent Scam Targeted Hundreds; FBI Charges 13 In Scheme That Swindled Americans $5M Grandparent Scam Targeted Hundreds; FBI Charges 13 In Scheme That Swindled Americans
$5M Grandparent Scam Targeted Hundreds; FBI Charges 13 In Scheme That Swindled Americans The phone rings in the middle of the night. It’s a family member, and they’re in trouble. A misunderstanding or mistake has put them in a serious bind, and they need thousands of dollars — immediately — or they're in big trouble.  Hundreds of people have received calls like that, but they were fake. Federal investigators call it the “grandparent scam.” The scheme allegedly targeted hundreds of older Americans — including at least 50 in Massachusetts — and stole more than $5 million, according to the US Attorney for Massachusetts. Federal prosecutors say they’ve charged 13 people who “r…

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by Josh Lanier
Business
Cash App Users To Get Refunds In $175M Order As Feds Target Fraud Cash App Users To Get Refunds In $175M Order As Feds Target Fraud
Cash App Users To Get Refunds In $175M Order As Feds Target Fraud Cash App's parent company will have to pay $175 million for poorly protecting its users from fraud and financial crimes on the payment platform, officials said. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Block to refund up to $120 million to users harmed by fraud, the federal agency said in a news release on Thursday, Jan. 16. The parent company of Cash App, which has more than 56 million accounts, must also pay a $55 million fine into the CFPB’s victims relief fund. The CFPB found that Block failed to properly investigate unauthorized transactions and deprived users of…

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by Chris Spiker
News
$4.3B Now Recovered For Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims, DOJ Says $4.3B Now Recovered For Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims, DOJ Says
$4.3B Now Recovered For Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims, DOJ Says More than $4.3 billion has now been recovered for victims of Bernie Madoff’s massive and infamous Ponzi scheme, the Justice Department announced, as part of a decade-long effort that has compensated over 40,000 people worldwide for nearly 94 percent of their losses. The DOJ says  its 10th and final distribution from the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF), provided more than $131 million to over 23,000 victims. The latest distribution marks the culmination of a decade-long effort to recover and return forfeited funds tied to Madoff's fraudulent investment empire. Most victims, primarily small inv…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Woman Who Stole $800K From CT Boys & Girls Club Nabbed In Florida, Police Say Woman Who Stole $800K From CT Boys & Girls Club Nabbed In Florida, Police Say
Woman Who Stole $800K From CT Boys & Girls Club Nabbed In Florida, Police Say An out-of-state woman is behind bars for allegedly stealing $800,000 from a Fairfield County Boys & Girls Club through a wire transfer over the computer. Debora Marcoccio, age 68, of Florida, was extradited from the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, by the Greenwich Police. According to Lt. Patrick Smyth of the Greenwich Police, the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich contacted the department in December of 2022 to report a fraud involving one of its financial accounts. Due to fraudulent email activity, one of the club's financial staff members sent a wire t…

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by Kathy Reakes