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Warning Issued For Nationwide Automated 'Sextortion' Scam: Here's What To Know Warning Issued For Nationwide Automated 'Sextortion' Scam: Here's What To Know
Warning Issued For Nationwide Automated 'Sextortion' Scam: Here's What To Know Authorities are warning the public of a nationwide automated scam in which scammers use people’s email addresses to coerce payments by intimidating them with threats of embarrassment. Victims of the "sextortion" scheme, usually children and teens, are manipulated to photograph or video material for extortionists. "After receiving the sexually explicit content from the child, the offender threatens to release that compromising material unless the victim produces additional explicit material," said the FBI in issuing the warning to parents, educators, caregivers, and children. In a sepa…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Westchester Honors Retiring 'Cyber Dog,' Detective Who Worked To Sniff Out Electronics Westchester Honors Retiring 'Cyber Dog,' Detective Who Worked To Sniff Out Electronics
Westchester Honors Retiring 'Cyber Dog,' Detective Who Worked To Sniff Out Electronics County officials are honoring the careers of a retiring Westchester detective and his K9 partner who worked to find hidden electronic devices containing evidence in criminal investigations.  The retirement of Westchester County Police Detective Brett Hochron and his partner, Harley the Cyber Dog, was announced on Monday, July 1.  According to County Executive George Latimer, the duo spent much of their careers sniffing out hidden digital devices in search of evidence for investigations, including SIM cards, thumb drives, hard drives, cell phones, tablets, laptop computers, an…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Teacher From Westchester Caught With Child Porn, Trying To Hack Teen's Social Media: Feds Teacher From Westchester Caught With Child Porn, Trying To Hack Teen's Social Media: Feds
Teacher From Westchester Caught With Child Porn, Trying To Hack Teen's Social Media: Feds A 27-year-old teacher from Northern Westchester faces decades in prison after authorities discovered his possession of child pornography and an attempt to hack into a student's social media account, officials said. Yorktown resident and teacher Giuseppi Micciari, age 27, was arrested on child pornography charges and presented in White Plains federal court on Wednesday, Nov. 1, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced.  According to federal officials, Micciari's arrest followed a review of his cell phone conducted by authorities that revealed th…

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by Ben Crnic
News
'Operation Catfish': 7 Sexual Predators Caught After Months-Long Hudson Valley Investigation 'Operation Catfish': 7 Sexual Predators Caught After Months-Long Hudson Valley Investigation
'Operation Catfish': 7 Sexual Predators Caught After Months-Long Hudson Valley Investigation A months-long cybercrime operation in the Hudson Valley has resulted in the arrest of seven sexual predators who possessed online child sexual abuse materials and attempted to lure children to meet for sex, officials said.  The operation, known as "Operation Catfish," was run by the Rockland County District Attorney's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), and resulted in the seven arrests and one guilty plea since January 2022, according to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh II.  According to Walsh, the following suspects were charged with using online me…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Man Charged With Promoting Sexual Performance By Child ID'd As Son Of Ex-Hudson Valley Sheriff Man Charged With Promoting Sexual Performance By Child ID'd As Son Of Ex-Hudson Valley Sheriff
Man Charged With Promoting Sexual Performance By Child ID'd As Son Of Ex-Hudson Valley Sheriff The son of a former sheriff in the Hudson Valley has been arrested on multiple counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, according to published reports. Robert L. Langley III, of Mahopac, the son of the ex-Putnam County Sheriff Robert Langley Jr., was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 10. In March 2022, investigators assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) received information from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that images and videos of child sexual abuse material were being shared online from a residence in the Town of Carmel, said Sh…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Destructive USB Flash Drives Are Being Mailed By Cybercriminals, FBI Warns Destructive USB Flash Drives Are Being Mailed By Cybercriminals, FBI Warns
Destructive USB Flash Drives Are Being Mailed By Cybercriminals, FBI Warns The FBI is warning that USB thumb drives are being mailed by cybercriminals in an attempt to lure recipients into plugging them into their computers and installing ransomware. Two different schemes are being used, says the FBI: The first contains a package that appears to come from the US Department of Health and Human Services that reportedly contains information on current pandemic guidelines.  The second comes as an Amazon gift box which contains a thank you letter, USB, and counterfeit gift card. Both packages contain USBs that when connected to a computer will send prec…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
1.1M Accounts Compromised In Cyberattacks Of 17 Companies, NY AG Investigation Finds 1.1M Accounts Compromised In Cyberattacks Of 17 Companies, NY AG Investigation Finds
1.1M Accounts Compromised In Cyberattacks Of 17 Companies, NY AG Investigation Finds An investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office found that more than 1.1 million accounts were compromised in cyberattacks of 17 companies. Attorney General Letitia James said in an announcement on Wednesday, Jan. 5, that the "Credential Stuffing Attacks" involve repeated, automated attempts to access accounts by using information stolen from other websites. James said often people reuse the same passwords on different sites, which allows cybercriminals to use stolen passwords on other websites.  “Right now, there are more than 15 billion stolen credentials being circu…

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by Nicole Valinote
News
Don't Fall For Them: FBI Issues Alert For Online Shopping Scams Don't Fall For Them: FBI Issues Alert For Online Shopping Scams
Don't Fall For Them: FBI Issues Alert For Online Shopping Scams The FBI is warning the public of cybercriminals targeting shoppers hoping to take advantage of online bargains and hard-to-find gift items for the holidays. During the 2020 holiday shopping season, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 17,000 complaints regarding the non-delivery of goods, resulting in losses of over $53 million, the agency said.  It is anticipated this number could increase during the 2021 holiday season due to rumors of merchandise shortages and the ongoing pandemic. That's why criminals are busy finding ways to entice their victims in multiple …

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Juvenile Used Racial Slurs After Remotely Breaking Into HS Class In Region Juvenile Used Racial Slurs After Remotely Breaking Into HS Class In Region
Juvenile Used Racial Slurs After Remotely Breaking Into HS Class In Region A juvenile is facing several charges after remotely breaking into the online classroom of a high school in the region, and then using racial slurs, according to police. The incident happened in Connecticut in the fall of 2020. Late on Friday, May 28, in Fairfield County, members of the Newtown Police Department charged the local youth for cybercrimes. The arrest was made at the conclusion of a six-month-long police investigation, of unknown persons accessing Google classrooms at Newtown High School and using racial epithets, in an abusive and disruptive manner. School Resource Officer W…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Police Issue Alert To Area Residents For Screen-Sharing Scam Police Issue Alert To Area Residents For Screen-Sharing Scam
Police Issue Alert To Area Residents For Screen-Sharing Scam Police are warning of a new scam involving instances of fraud stemming from screen-sharing software that gives scammers access to personal computers and smartphones. The scams that involve remote access software being used to target devices, one of which was recently used on an area resident. Police said that a fraudster posing as a customer care executive from Amazon advised the victim that a “fraud alert” has been placed on their account. The victim acknowledged that they had an Amazon account but did not have the Amazon app on their phone. The fraudster took this opportunity to direct…

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by Zak Failla
News
Bitcoin Scammers Claim To Have Compromising Videos Of Victims Bitcoin Scammers Claim To Have Compromising Videos Of Victims
Bitcoin Scammers Claim To Have Compromising Videos Of Victims Bitcoin scammers have been threatening to expose sensitive videos of their victims if they are not paid off. Fraudsters have been sending spam emails that allege they have recorded video of “you getting yourself off,” which they threaten to expose if they are not paid off. The emails claim that the scammer is from out of the country, and cannot be targeted by local law enforcement. Related story - COVID-19: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic Scammers allege that based on their potential victims’ visiting “bad” websites that infected computers with malware, they now …

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by Zak Failla
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: Anti-Semitic 'Zoom Bombing' Incident Under Investigation In Westchester COVID-19: Anti-Semitic 'Zoom Bombing' Incident Under Investigation In Westchester
Covid-19: Anti-Semitic 'Zoom Bombing' Incident Under Investigation In Westchester The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office is investigating recent anti-Semitic incidents during online religious services amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. An investigation has been launched into recent “zoom-bombing” incidents that were being streamed “in an effort to bring people together while following social distancing directives,” Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr., announced. Zoom provides videotelephony and online chat services through a cloud-based platform. It's used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education, and social rel…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Cell Phone Fraud On The Rise: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself Cell Phone Fraud On The Rise: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself
Cell Phone Fraud On The Rise: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself People all around the country are at a higher risk than ever of becoming the next victim of cell phone fraud, especially the elderly. The FCC defines cell phone fraud as, “the unauthorized use, tampering or manipulation of a cellular phone or service.” It comes in two primary forms, subscriber fraud and phone cloning fraud. Subscriber fraud occurs when a scammer signs up for a service with information obtained in a fraudulent way. Cell phone cloning fraud occurs when a scammer essentially reprograms a cell phone to transmit the signal associated with another legitimate device. While other…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Cybercriminals Targeting Online Payroll Accounts Of Employees, FBI Says Cybercriminals Targeting Online Payroll Accounts Of Employees, FBI Says
Cybercriminals Targeting Online Payroll Accounts Of Employees, FBI Says Cybercriminals are targeting online payroll accounts of employees in order to change bank account info and redirect direct deposits, according to the FBI. The federal government has received complaints reporting cybercriminals are targeting the online payroll accounts of employees in a variety of industries. Institutions most affected are education, healthcare and commercial airlines. Cybercriminals reportedly target employees through phishing emails designed to capture an employee’s login credentials, according to the FBI.  Once the cybercriminal has obtained an employee’s credentials, th…

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by Jon Craig
News
W-2 Form Tax Scam: Be On The Lookout, IRS Says W-2 Form Tax Scam: Be On The Lookout, IRS Says
W-2 Form Tax Scam: Be On The Lookout, IRS Says The Internal Revenue Service is warning employers and employees in the Hudson Valley of a Form W-2 phishing scam that cost hundreds of organizations and employees thousands of dollars last year. During the last two tax seasons, cybercriminals tricked payroll personnel or people with access to payroll information into disclosing sensitive information for entire workforces, according to the IRS. The scam affected all types of employers, from small and large businesses to public schools and universities, hospitals, tribal governments and charities. In total, more than 900 phishing reports were…

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by Zak Failla