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Police & Fire
Private Pics Cost Glen Rock 'Sextortion' Victim $20,000, Police Pursue Fugitive Cyberthief Private Pics Cost Glen Rock 'Sextortion' Victim $20,000, Police Pursue Fugitive Cyberthief
Private Pics Cost Glen Rock 'Sextortion' Victim $20,000, Police Pursue Fugitive Cyberthief An elderly lonely heart from Glen Rock was “sextorted” out of $20,000 after sending compromising photos to a scammer he thought was a woman -- and was about to hand over another 20 grand when his bank mercifully refused, authorities said. Online romance scammer Ali H. Maman, 59, of Frederick, MD (photo above), has so far eluded authorities, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said this week. Posing as a woman, Maman communicated with the Glen Rock senior through Instagram and WhatsApp, the chief said on Wednesday, April 10. The victim was convinced to share the risqué photos, then w…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
He’d Been Hacked, All Right: NJ Man Loses Staggering $150,000 To Computer Popup Scam He’d Been Hacked, All Right: NJ Man Loses Staggering $150,000 To Computer Popup Scam
He’d Been Hacked, All Right: NJ Man Loses Staggering $150,000 To Computer Popup Scam It might be emotionally painful for some to learn that a Bergen County man lost nearly $150,000 to a “your computer has been hacked” scam. Sadly, it’s true. The victim got a computer popup message “alerting” him to the purported hack earlier this month, Glen Rock Police Lt. Frank Riggio said. “Over the following days, he was advised to secure a large sum of money from his bank accounts to avoid further hacking,” the lieutenant said. The victim gave the con artist nearly 150 large "under the false pretense that this party was helping protect the victim from further financial hacking," Rigg…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy
They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy It's heartbreaking to discover that someone you've become enamored with online isn't into you, but it’s even worse to realize that person just made off with $3,500 of your money. That’s what happened to a Glen Rock resident who ended up wiring the dough to a sweet talker in the Dominican Republic. Suffice to say: It wasn’t coming back. Although $3,500 is a significant sum to some, it’s couch cushion change compared with the $450,000 in crypto lost last year by another romance scam victim from Glen Rock. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a staggering $1.3 BILLION was lost by 70,000…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
63-Year-Old Hackettstown Woman Loses $7K In Scam Involving Bogus PNC Bank Worker, Police Say 63-Year-Old Hackettstown Woman Loses $7K In Scam Involving Bogus PNC Bank Worker, Police Say
63-Year-Old Hackettstown Woman Loses $7K In Scam Involving Bogus PNC Bank Worker, Police Say Police have issued a warning to local residents after a 63-year-old Hackettstown woman was scammed out of $7,000 by someone posing as a PNC bank worker. The scammer posed as a bank employee and told the victim that her bank account was compromised, police said in a Wednesday release. “According to the victim, the scammer was very persistent and then the scammer allegedly convinced the victim to pay with various gift cards to have her accounts secured,” police said. The victim bought $7,000 worth of Best Buy and Target gift cards, scratched off all of the PIN numbers, and told the informati…

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by Valerie Musson
News
GRANDPARENT SCAM: Elderly NJ Victim Loses $7,800, Arrest Made GRANDPARENT SCAM: Elderly NJ Victim Loses $7,800, Arrest Made
Grandparent Scam: Elderly NJ Victim Loses $7,800, Arrest Made Rochelle Park police nabbed a phone scammer from the Bronx who convinced an elderly victim to mail $7,800 in cash that he said was needed to bail out his just-arrested grandson, authorities said. Posing as a police officer, a caller told the 80-something Washington State resident that his grandson had been arrested, Detective Lt. James DePreta said. The caller said his son needed $16,800 for bail, then directed him to mail $7,800 to a Rochelle Park address, DePreta said. Believing it was real, the victim sent the money, the lieutenant said. He eventually realized it was a scam and called…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ, NY, Feds Shut Down Sham Charity Operation That Scammed Donors Out Of Tens Of Millions NJ, NY, Feds Shut Down Sham Charity Operation That Scammed Donors Out Of Tens Of Millions
NJ, NY, Feds Shut Down Sham Charity Operation That Scammed Donors Out Of Tens Of Millions Kind-hearted donors in New Jersey and New York were scammed out of tens of millions of dollars by a telephone soliciting operation that claimed to raise money for homeless veterans, retired and disabled law enforcement officers, breast cancer survivors and others in need, authorities said Wednesday. A joint lawsuit filed by the state of New Jersey, the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of New York, Minnesota and Virginia has permanently shut down the operation headed by Mark Gelvan, a telemarketing consultant who'd been banned for life from raising funds for charity more th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Don't Fall For It,' Hackettstown Police Warn After Elderly Woman Scammed Out Of $2.2K 'Don't Fall For It,' Hackettstown Police Warn After Elderly Woman Scammed Out Of $2.2K
'Don't Fall For It,' Hackettstown Police Warn After Elderly Woman Scammed Out Of $2.2K Hackettstown police are warning the public of scammers after an elderly woman apparently lost more than $2,000 to one. The 82-year-old victim got an email that she believed was from Apple Inc., in reference to a charge on her account from a game she purchased Sept. 2, local police said. The victim never purchased a game, so she called the company and spoke to a woman regarding the alleged charge. The woman instructed the victim to go to a nearby store and purchase Apple gift cards, while remaining on the phone.  And so, the victim left for the store. When she got there, there weren't…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Hackettstown Bank Teller Saves Man From Wiring $40K To Scammers Hackettstown Bank Teller Saves Man From Wiring $40K To Scammers
Hackettstown Bank Teller Saves Man From Wiring $40K To Scammers Not all heroes wear capes. A Hackettstown bank employee saved an 80-year-old man from wiring $40,000 to scammers who told him his vehicle had been found near the Mexican border with 22 pounds of cocaine. The man received multiple phone calls from scammers impersonating police officers who told him that a car belonging to him had been found in Texas near the Mexico border with blood stains and 22 pounds of cocaine around 4:20 p.m. last Friday, Hackettstown police said in a release. The scammers told the man that he would be arrested unless he wired $40,000 to the Office of the Inspector Gen…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Authorities: Garfield PD Nabs Man Who Scammed Upstate NY Grandma Out Of Nearly $12,800 Authorities: Garfield PD Nabs Man Who Scammed Upstate NY Grandma Out Of Nearly $12,800
Authorities: Garfield PD Nabs Man Who Scammed Upstate NY Grandma Out Of Nearly $12,800 An elderly New York State woman was conned out of $7,000 in a grandparent scam -- and nearly lost $5,800 more before Garfield police grabbed a Paterson man as he collected the second payment, authorities said. Jose A. Torres-Dejesus, 27, called the victim on Friday claiming to be her grandson, Detective Capt. Richard Uram said. Torres-Dejesus told the woman he’d been involved in a DUI crash and needed money, Uram said. He then gave her a phone number, saying it was his attorney, the captain said. The woman called the number and a man who answered said she had overnight $7,000 in cash to a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
COVID-19 SCAM ALERT: Contact Tracer Or Con Artist? Here's How To Tell COVID-19 SCAM ALERT: Contact Tracer Or Con Artist? Here's How To Tell
Covid-19 Scam ALERT: Contact Tracer Or Con Artist? Here's How To Tell In case you haven’t already heard, identity thieves have been texting people pretending to be coronavirus contact tracers in order to steal their money. Contact tracers are hired by public health departments to get hold of people who’ve had close contact with those who've tested positive for COVID-19. The goal is to warn those people to self-quarantine, and monitor their systems daily, in case they may have been infected themselves. Contract tracing has helped curb the spread of COVID-19. But, as with any public emergency, it’s also become a popular tool for scammers looking to take y…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds Smash Hundreds Of Online Coronavirus Scams -- And Tell You What To Look For Feds Smash Hundreds Of Online Coronavirus Scams -- And Tell You What To Look For
Feds Smash Hundreds Of Online Coronavirus Scams -- And Tell You What To Look For Federal authorities said they've gotten help from domain providers and others in smashing hundreds of online sites exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to commit fraud and other crimes. As of Tuesday, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) had received and reviewed more than 3,600 complaints related to COVID-19 scams, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Many of them “operated from websites that advertised fake vaccines and cures, operated fraudulent charity drives, delivered malware, or hosted various other types of scams,” federal officials said in a release. To attract traffic, t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Western Union Paying $153M In Compensation To Seniors Who Lost Money In Phone Scams Western Union Paying $153M In Compensation To Seniors Who Lost Money In Phone Scams
Western Union Paying $153M In Compensation To Seniors Who Lost Money In Phone Scams Western Union “turned a blind eye” to money transfers made by elderly phone scam victims and is now paying for it to the tune of $153 million to more than 109,000 people in the U.S. and abroad, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. The payment “brings some measure of justice for the elderly and other victims,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said. It’s only just a start, though. Before it’s done, Western Union must pony up $586 million, which the government is making available to compensate victims of international consumer …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds Bust 400 Scammers Who Preyed On Elderly Feds Bust 400 Scammers Who Preyed On Elderly
Feds Bust 400 Scammers Who Preyed On Elderly Federal prosecutors throughout the U.S. have teamed up to charge more than 400 people in scams that have recently cost America’s senior citizens more than a billion dollars.  The largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud ever was announced by U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr during a talk earlier this week aimed at protecting older Americans from financial harm. The event, “Keeping Seniors Safe,” was held – where else? – in Florida. The Sunshine State had the most prosecutions brought by federal authorities in the sweep: 21. Ranking second was New York State, with 18. The Southe…

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by Jerry DeMarco