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Holiday Deals Or Fraud? IRS Issues Warning For These Scams Holiday Deals Or Fraud? IRS Issues Warning For These Scams
Holiday Deals Or Fraud? IRS Issues Warning For These Scams As the holiday shopping season begins, the IRS reminds everyone that it’s not just your credit card balance you need to watch — it’s also your personal information. As part of its ninth annual National Tax Security Awareness Week, the IRS is warning taxpayers about a rise in holiday scams.  The scammers aren’t interested in gifts under your tree; they’re after your Social Security number and financial information instead. Here’s how scammers are getting creative—and how you can stay safe: Phishing Emails: Be wary of emails pretending to be from reputable retailers, shipping companie…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
'Heartless And Despicable': NJ Broker Who Scammed $3.7M From Gold Star Families Sentenced 'Heartless And Despicable': NJ Broker Who Scammed $3.7M From Gold Star Families Sentenced
'Heartless And Despicable': NJ Broker Who Scammed $3.7M From Gold Star Families Sentenced A former Army financial counselor from Colts Neck will spend more than a decade in prison after admitting to scamming Gold Star families out of more than $3 million, authorities said. Caz Craffy, 42, was sentenced on Wednesday, Aug. 21 to 12 years and seven months in prison, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. He pleaded guilty to 10 charges on Tuesday, Apr. 16. Craffy, who's also known as "Carz Craffey," had been a major in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2003. His Army affiliation was terminated in January 2023, according to military records. Ac…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Scammer Tried Stealing $20K From Elderly Couple In South Jersey: Police Scammer Tried Stealing $20K From Elderly Couple In South Jersey: Police
Scammer Tried Stealing $20K From Elderly Couple In South Jersey: Police A Jersey City man was accused of trying to scam an elderly Atlantic County couple out of $20,000, authorities said. Vamshihar Katikreddy, 25, was arrested on Tuesday, Apr. 2, the Egg Harbor Township Police Department said in a news release. He was charged with theft by deception, impersonation of a law enforcement officer, and conspiracy. Egg Harbor Township police responded to a home in the Harbor Woods neighborhood at around 5 p.m. after a woman reported her parents in their 80s were scammed out of $20,000. The scammer claimed to be from the FBI and he was coming to their home t…

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by Chris Spiker
News
NJ Man Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet Gets 27 Months, No Parole NJ Man Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet Gets 27 Months, No Parole
NJ Man Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet Gets 27 Months, No Parole UPDATE: A South Jersey man who concocted a GoFundMe scheme with his then-girlfriend that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran is headed to federal prison. Mark D’Amico, 42, formerly of Bordentown, must serve just about all of his plea-bargained 27-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. He also must pay restitution and undergo gambling, drug and mental-health counseling under the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden on Friday, April 1. Three years of supervision will als…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
IRS Warns Of Brand-New Wave Of Scams Tied To Stimulus Checks, COVID-19 IRS Warns Of Brand-New Wave Of Scams Tied To Stimulus Checks, COVID-19
IRS Warns Of Brand-New Wave Of Scams Tied To Stimulus Checks, Covid-19 ALERT: No sooner did the second round of stimulus checks start going out than a new wave of scams began, authorities said. With COVID-19 still rampant and tax filing season near, thieves have been busy tricking honest Americans out of their hard-earned money, warned Michael Montanez, the special agent in charge of the IRS – Criminal Investigation Field Office in Newark. Aiming to protect them, Montanez assembled information to help New Jersey taxpayers protect their finances and not “fall victim to criminals looking to take advantage of them.” Look out for: Text messages asking taxpayers…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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
BEWARE: Coronavirus Scammers Calling, Texting, Emailing, Visiting Victims BEWARE: Coronavirus Scammers Calling, Texting, Emailing, Visiting Victims
Beware: Coronavirus Scammers Calling, Texting, Emailing, Visiting Victims As if there wasn’t enough to worry about: Authorities are warning New Jereyans to beware of coronavirus scams. Stay alert and be wary of any call, text, email or stranger at your door, state Attorney Gurbir S. Grewal and officials with the state Division of Consumer Affairs said. Among their warnings: Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aren’t going door-to-door for any reason, so be sure not to let anyone in who claims to be from the CDC and make sure you call police immediately; There are countless in-store or online advertisements for products that claim…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
BUSTED! Trio Nabbed Trying To Collect Cash In Grandparent Phone Scam, Bergen Prosecutor Says BUSTED! Trio Nabbed Trying To Collect Cash In Grandparent Phone Scam, Bergen Prosecutor Says
Busted! Trio Nabbed Trying To Collect Cash In Grandparent Phone Scam, Bergen Prosecutor Says A trio of thieves who nearly conned a Bergen County woman into believing she had to pay them $8,400 to get her grandson out of jail were busted when they showed up to collect the money, authorities said. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said his detectives began stalking the crew last month, after the infamous “grandparent scam” victimized several elderly citizens. “Dozens of elderly victims in Bergen County and throughout the state of New Jersey were contacted by a male caller who stated that the elderly victim’s grandchild had been arrested on a number of criminal charges and needed …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Relative In Trouble': 80-Something Glen Rock Victim Sends Scammers $12,000 Cash 'Relative In Trouble': 80-Something Glen Rock Victim Sends Scammers $12,000 Cash
'Relative In Trouble': 80-Something Glen Rock Victim Sends Scammers $12,000 Cash A Glen Rock woman in her 80s wrapped $12,000 in cash and sent it to phone scammers who convinced her that a relative in trouble needed it, authorities said. One of the scammers called the victim claiming to be the relative and then put an accomplice posing as an attorney on the phone, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Monday. The “attorney” told the victim that the relative was in jail and needed the cash sent by UPS to an address in Memphis, TN, Ackermann said. Last Tuesday, the woman sent the package, which UPS tracking confirmed was delivered to the Memphis address shortly before 10 a.m.…

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by Jerry DeMarco