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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
Scam Alert: Callers Posing As Police Sergeant, Demanding Cash In Region Scam Alert: Callers Posing As Police Sergeant, Demanding Cash In Region
Scam Alert: Callers Posing As Police Sergeant, Demanding Cash In Region Authorities in the Hudson Valley are warning residents to be wary of phone scammers posing as police to demand cash from victims.  The scheme was detailed in an announcement by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office on Friday, Aug. 23, in which authorities said they had received reports of fraudulent calls to residents in the county.  According to the Sheriff's Office, the caller has been posing as a sergeant from the office and asking for cash for missed jury duty fines.  In their announcement, the office said they would never make such calls or request payments for jury d…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Scammers Posing As Law Enforcement, Sending Fake Letters To Victims In Hudson Valley Scammers Posing As Law Enforcement, Sending Fake Letters To Victims In Hudson Valley
Scammers Posing As Law Enforcement, Sending Fake Letters To Victims In Hudson Valley Authorities in the region are warning residents of a scheme involving scammers posing as law enforcement and sending victims fake letters to convince them they are in trouble with the law.  The scam, detailed in an announcement from the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office on Friday, June 28, involves suspects contacting victims and posing as law enforcement before telling them they are wanted for a crime.  The Sheriff's Office added that the scammer will then tell the victim they need to pay cash to satisfy the warrant or charges.  To further convince victims that the request i…

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by Ben Crnic
News
2 Suspects Posing As Law Enforcement Nabbed In Hudson Valley $27K Phone Scam 2 Suspects Posing As Law Enforcement Nabbed In Hudson Valley $27K Phone Scam
2 Suspects Posing As Law Enforcement Nabbed In Hudson Valley $27K Phone Scam Two suspects from New Jersey posing as law enforcement authorities in New York were nabbed after allegedly scamming residents out of $27,000. The Hudson Valley incident occurred in Dutchess County on Tuesday, June 18, and Wednesday, June 19. According to Capt. John Watterson of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, Vivek B. Shingarakhia, age 24, and Kishan Gajera, age 31, both of Jersey City, in connection with the investigation into a phone scam that was reported to the Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday, June 19. Watterson said the victims reported to sheriff’s deputies that they susp…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Scammer Caught Red-Handed With $36K Taken From Woman From Region, Police Say Scammer Caught Red-Handed With $36K Taken From Woman From Region, Police Say
Scammer Caught Red-Handed With $36K Taken From Woman From Region, Police Say A man was captured in the region after allegedly scamming a woman out of $36,000. The incident occurred in Sullivan County on Wednesday, May 1 in the village of Liberty. According to Chief Steven D'Agata of the Liberty Police, the department received a call from a 76-year-old resident who said the money had been taken from her as part of an elaborate scam. The woman told officers that what appeared to be a virus appeared on her computer. Shortly after she received a phone call from a man claiming to be from an anti-virus company and he would help her. D'Agata said the man, identified as H…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Scammers Posing As NYSP Troopers, Agency Warns Scammers Posing As NYSP Troopers, Agency Warns
Scammers Posing As Nysp Troopers, Agency Warns New York State Police are sounding the alarm over scammers posing as troopers in order to con victims out of their money. In an alert issued Tuesday, April 9, the agency said fraudsters employ a variety of tactics to con their victims, including demanding payment for a missed court date, jury duty, or other legal matter. The phony cops have also been known to claim there is a warrant for the victim’s arrest and threaten to apprehend them unless a fine is paid. In some cases, scammers have directed the victim to buy a prepaid money transfer card and give them the card number. “They might s…

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by Michael Mashburn
Police & Fire
Scammers From NY Thinking They Were Collecting $60K Land Behind Bars In Maryland: Sheriff Scammers From NY Thinking They Were Collecting $60K Land Behind Bars In Maryland: Sheriff
Scammers From NY Thinking They Were Collecting $60K Land Behind Bars In Maryland: Sheriff A couple of New Yorkers tried to pull a fast one on a woman in Maryland, but were ultimately apprehended after getting greedy and attempting to go to the well one too many times.  The Washington County Sheriff's Office was advised this week about a scam involving a pair who had been collecting large amounts of cash from a Hagerstown woman, prompting an investigation that led to the arrests of Jinghai Fang and Binbin Ge. In late March, investigators say that the woman received a notification on her tablet that one of her accounts had been hacked, so she called the supplied number and fo…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Woman Victimized By Scammer Posing As Family Member Over Phone In Westchester Woman Victimized By Scammer Posing As Family Member Over Phone In Westchester
Woman Victimized By Scammer Posing As Family Member Over Phone In Westchester Residents are being warned to be cautious after a woman in New York was contacted by a scammer who posed as her family member in an effort to solicit money from her.  The Westchester County incident happened to a member of the Port Chester Senior Community Center on Wednesday, Oct. 11, when she was victimized by a "grandparent scam," according to an announcement from the center shared by the Port Chester Police Department. According to the community center, the woman received a call from someone who sounded like her grandchild, who said that they were in trouble and needed money …

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Don't Fall For It: Phone Scammers Posing As Cops Targeting Capital Region Residents Don't Fall For It: Phone Scammers Posing As Cops Targeting Capital Region Residents
Don't Fall For It: Phone Scammers Posing As Cops Targeting Capital Region Residents If you get a suspicious phone call threatening arrest, don’t worry, it’s most likely bogus. Several concerned citizens contacted the Albany Police Department on Monday, Oct. 16, reporting a man who was posing as an Albany cop, according to the agency. The caller told people that they had an outstanding warrant and they needed to make a payment in order to “take care of it.” If payment was not received, he told them, they would be arrested. Albany Police addressed the scam in a Facebook post Tuesday, Oct. 17, saying the department will never ask for financial or credit card information over…

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by Michael Mashburn
Police & Fire
Don't Fall For It: Scammers Posing As Police Officers From Capital Region Don't Fall For It: Scammers Posing As Police Officers From Capital Region
Don't Fall For It: Scammers Posing As Police Officers From Capital Region Authorities are warning of scammers who are posing as police officers from a local agency. In Schenectady County, someone is posing as a member of the Schenectady Police Department and using the name of an active officer, the agency said in a statement on Monday, June 26. On several occasions, the caller has left messages telling people that they are involved in a “legal matter” and leaving a phone number to call back, police said. The numbers given do not belong to the Schenectady Police Department. Investigators said it appears that the calls are coming from outside of the Capital Regio…

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by Michael Mashburn
Police & Fire
Suspect At Large After Woman Scammed By Email From 'Familiar Name At Workplace' Suspect At Large After Woman Scammed By Email From 'Familiar Name At Workplace'
Suspect At Large After Woman Scammed By Email From 'Familiar Name At Workplace' A suspect is at large after allegedly scamming a  woman out of money in an email scam pretending he was someone from her workplace in Connecticut. In Fairfield County, the incident took place on Wednesday, March 15 when Darien Police met with the victim of the larceny involving an email scam. The victim reported that earlier in the day she received an email from a familiar name at her workplace. The email requested that she purchase gift cards related to her work function, Darien PD Sgt. Dan Skoumbros said. The email explained to the victim that pictures of the gift cards wi…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Fraudster Posing As City Worker Scammed Elderly Victim Out Of $3K, Capital Region Police Say Fraudster Posing As City Worker Scammed Elderly Victim Out Of $3K, Capital Region Police Say
Fraudster Posing As City Worker Scammed Elderly Victim Out Of $3K, Capital Region Police Say An elderly man from the region was scammed out of thousands of dollars by a fraudster posing as a city worker, authorities said. Rensselaer County resident Joseph Celeone, age 40, of Troy, was arrested Monday, Feb. 6, for grand larceny and criminal impersonation, according to the Watervliet Police Department in Albany County. Detectives were initially contacted in late December 2022 by a 75-year-old Watervliet resident who told police he was approached by a man claiming to work for the City of Watervliet. The supposed employee, who police identified as Celeone, told the victim that his dr…

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by Michael Mashburn
Police & Fire
Don't Fall For It: Police In Capital Region Warn Of Scammers Posing As Utility Companies Don't Fall For It: Police In Capital Region Warn Of Scammers Posing As Utility Companies
Don't Fall For It: Police In Capital Region Warn Of Scammers Posing As Utility Companies Be wary of phone calls from utility companies in the region claiming that you owe money. That’s the warning from the North Greenbush Police Department in Rensselaer County, which has seen an uptick in phone calls claiming to be from cable, phone, and other utility companies claiming that a bill has not been paid or is late, police said. The caller then threatens to disconnect service unless the customer pays over the phone using a credit card. Victims are asked to verify their account and bank information, along with other sensitive data. With that information in hand, scammers are free to…

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by Michael Mashburn
Business
Scam Alert: Phishing Text Messages On Rise, New Report Says Scam Alert: Phishing Text Messages On Rise, New Report Says
Scam Alert: Phishing Text Messages On Rise, New Report Says Cybersecurity experts have reported an increase in phishing scam text messages, according to a new report from CNET. Josh Yavor, the chief information security officer at cybersecurity company Tessian, told the news outlet he has seen a recent increase in scammers using text messages for phishing, where they attempt to steal peoples' personal information by pretending to be reputable organizations. CNET also said a report from enterprise security company Proofpoint found that incidents SMS phishing increased by 24 percent in the United States last year. The Federal Trade Commission reporte…

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by Nicole Valinote