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Online Safety

SOCIAL MEDIA SCAM: Bogus Post About Unidentified Girl Found By Side Of Road Returns SOCIAL MEDIA SCAM: Bogus Post About Unidentified Girl Found By Side Of Road Returns
Social Media Scam: Bogus Post About Unidentified Girl Found By Side Of Road Returns A cruel social media post about an unidentified girl in a hospital bed who was stabbed, robbed and “left for dead on the side of the road” in your town or one nearby has re-emerged. Whatever you do, don't share it. The post has appeared in several states – and recently in one of New Jersey’s most affluent towns – showing what, in reality, is a severely injured girl in a hospital bed following a car crash in 2016 in Utah. Taylor Carlton, who was 16 at the time, eventually emerged from a coma and has long since recovered. She became a mom in 2018, according to her sister. However, a r…
Police Release Conversations Between Philly Man, Detectives Posing As Teen Girl In MontCo Police Release Conversations Between Philly Man, Detectives Posing As Teen Girl In MontCo
Police Release Conversations Between Philly Man, Detectives Posing As Teen Girl In MontCo Authorities in Montgomery County have released conversations between a 29-year-old Philadelphia man and undercover detectives, who he thought was actually a 14-year-old girl. Anthony Smith-Sturgis reached out to "the girl" on a social media app on Oct. 4, saying he wanted to meet "the queen behind the smile," and that he was a single dad, sous chef, and future massage therapist, according to exchanges in a criminal complaint released by the office of Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele. Anthony Smith-Sturgis introduces himself to "the girl" on an app on Oct. 4.Montgomery…
Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You
Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You A boy named Andrew Bucklandon hasn't gone missing. He didn't leave for school and not return. He doesn't even exist. For those who've seen -- or, worse, shared -- the Facebook post about a purportedly missing boy the past couple of days, here are a few questions: Does the post include a town? A link? Contact details? It doesn't. Because it's bogus. Like any good phishing scam, the missing boy ploy tugs at the heartstrings and plays on the fears of those who want to help. They're actually helping the scammers find more victims. Phishers threw their latest line into social media waters on…
This NJ Town Has Special Parking Lot For Meeting 'Internet Weirdos' This NJ Town Has Special Parking Lot For Meeting 'Internet Weirdos'
This NJ Town Has Special Parking Lot For Meeting 'Internet Weirdos' Whether you're picking up an item you bought on Facebook Marketplace or heading out for a bike ride with someone you connected with online, officials in one New Jersey town have created a safe place for you to do so. Surveillance cameras are running 24/7 and police officers are just a shout away at this parking lot in Mansfield Township. "Don’t meet internet weirdos in some shady parking lot," Mansfield Township police said. "Instead, come to MTPD’s parking lot at 100 Port Murray Road Port Murray, NJ and make your exchanges here." The lot was apparently donated by OfferUp, according to the…
Central Jersey Man Sexually Assaulted Girl, 12, He Met Online: Prosecutor Central Jersey Man Sexually Assaulted Girl, 12, He Met Online: Prosecutor
Central Jersey Man Sexually Assaulted Girl, 12, He Met Online: Prosecutor A 20-year-old Somerset County man was arrested for sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl he met online, authorities said. The victim on July 26 told police she met an unknown male, later identified as Lenic S. Galvin, of Bound Brook, on social media before he arranged for the victim to be brought to his home, where he sexually assaulted her, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Galvin was arrested the following day on charges of aggravated sexual assault and more. He was lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing. Anyone with information relating …
South Jersey Man Sought Sex With 15-Year-Old Boy: Police South Jersey Man Sought Sex With 15-Year-Old Boy: Police
South Jersey Man Sought Sex With 15-Year-Old Boy: Police A 55-year-old man from Atlantic County has been arrested for luring/enticing after seeking to have sex with a boy, authorities said. Joseph M. Manzoni, of Ventnor City, was charged on June 22 after a monthlong investigation, according to Ventnor City Police.  On May 22, at 10:25 p.m., Ventnor police received a report from a subject who arrived at a pre-arranged location to meet a male with the purpose of having sex with him. Manzoni had been communicating with this subject through an online app, where Manzoni believed the subject to be a 15-year-old child, police said. BreakingA…
FBI: ‘Sextortion’ Of Teen Boys Is Increasing, Here's What Parents, Guardians Should Know FBI: ‘Sextortion’ Of Teen Boys Is Increasing, Here's What Parents, Guardians Should Know
FBI: ‘Sextortion’ Of Teen Boys Is Increasing, Here's What Parents, Guardians Should Know Reports of adults ‘sextorting’ teenage boys into sending them sexual videos or photos online are booming, particularly involving victims 14 to 17 years old, the FBI warns. In 2021 alone, its Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 18,000 sextortion-related complaints of various types, the bureau announced on Wednesday, April 13. A growing number involved late-teen boys targeted by predators posing as someone else, federal authorities said. It ordinarily begins with a contact through social media or on a gaming site. The adult predator or scammer "convinces the child to s…
NJ Attorney General Co-Leads National Probe Into Whether TikTok Harms Kids, Teens, Young Adults NJ Attorney General Co-Leads National Probe Into Whether TikTok Harms Kids, Teens, Young Adults
NJ Attorney General Co-Leads National Probe Into Whether TikTok Harms Kids, Teens, Young Adults New Jersey law enforcers are co-leading a multi-state investigation into whether TikTok puts youngsters at physical and emotional risk, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced. The probe centers on what Platkin called techniques used by TikTok to "increase both the frequency and duration of engagement by young users – children, teenagers and young adults – and on the potential harms that may result from such engagement." It will also explore "what TikTok knows about such harms," the attorney said in announcing the endeavor on Wednesday, March 2. A coalition of attorneys genera…
Jersey Shore Wrestling Champ Arrested By FBI On Child Porn Charges Jersey Shore Wrestling Champ Arrested By FBI On Child Porn Charges
Jersey Shore Wrestling Champ Arrested By FBI On Child Porn Charges A New Jersey state wrestling champion and coach who made national headlines when he revealed that he’s gay was arrested by the FBI Wednesday on child porn charges, federal authorities said. Alec Donovan, 24, of Brick Township also used an app to “solicit and engage in conversations with minors, including requesting nude photographs from the minors and sending nude photographs to them,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Donovan, who records show has coached at the Shorething Wrestling Club in Lakewood, “sent three videos containing images of child sexual abuse and received two vide…
Hookup Turns Into Robbery After NJ Man Is Drugged By Online 'Date' Hookup Turns Into Robbery After NJ Man Is Drugged By Online 'Date'
Hookup Turns Into Robbery After NJ Man Is Drugged By Online 'Date' A Leonia man was set up by a woman who met him online, drugged him at his home and then robbed him with help from two other men, authorities said. Katherine Berg, 32, of Paterson went to the victim’s Grand Avenue home in the early morning hours of June 26 and slipped him a drug that knocked him out, Police Chief Scott Tamagny said. A medical call brought police around 11 a.m. the next day, the chief said. A family member had found the 30-something victim with “numerous injuries and no memory of what had occurred,” Tamagny said. More than 24 hours had passed and the victim was immediately…
GOTCHA! NJ Citizens Posing As Minors Bust Men Trying To Lure Boys Online, Police Say GOTCHA! NJ Citizens Posing As Minors Bust Men Trying To Lure Boys Online, Police Say
Gotcha! NJ Citizens Posing As Minors Bust Men Trying To Lure Boys Online, Police Say Men from Atlantic City, NJ and Chester County, PA were busted by concerned citizens posing as minors trying to lure boys online, authorities said Tuesday. The concerned citizens posed as underage children on various social media sites and confronted the two men before notifying local law enforcement, ACPD spokesman Lt. Kevin Fair said. Officers on Saturday responded to the 2400 block of Formicas Way on a report that Robert Catalano, 58, of Atlantic City attempted to lure a child to engage in sexual contact, Fair said. The concerned citizens provided officers with screen shots and detailed …
TO CATCH A PREDATOR: Civilian Exposes NJ Man By Posing As Girl, 14 TO CATCH A PREDATOR: Civilian Exposes NJ Man By Posing As Girl, 14
TO Catch A Predator: Civilian Exposes NJ Man By Posing As Girl, 14 A Tenafly man was arrested after a vigilante who publicly exposes child predators lured him to the Bronx for what he thought would be a hook-up with a 14-year-old girl, authorities said. A video posted on YouTube shows the unidentified vigilante confronting Jonathan Soto, 28, in a parked minivan. “What’s your mother gonna say about this?” the man asks during a nearly 15-minute conversation peppered with profanity and sexual descriptions. WARNING: The video contains profanity and descriptions of sexual situations. Authorities obtained search warrants after intensely investigating the auth…