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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
Business
Dow Drops 1,000 Points: US Stock Market In Free Fall, Wiping Away Trillions In Capital Dow Drops 1,000 Points: US Stock Market In Free Fall, Wiping Away Trillions In Capital
Dow Drops 1,000 Points: US Stock Market In Free Fall, Wiping Away Trillions In Capital Investors hoping the major dip in the stock market last week was just a blip were greeted with even more losses on Monday, Aug. 5, as fears of a recession and global turmoil sent stocks tumbling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,200 points at one point but closed 1,000 down. The S&P 500 dropped more than 3 percent and the Nasdaq fell 3.4 percent.  The massive sell-off began on Friday after a US jobs report showed that employer hiring in July had slowed more than analysts had predicted. Investors were already on edge over fears the US Federal Reserve had left interest ra…

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by Josh Lanier
News
Scammers Posing As Well-Known Businesses, Agencies: Here's What To Know, Feds Say Scammers Posing As Well-Known Businesses, Agencies: Here's What To Know, Feds Say
Scammers Posing As Well-Known Businesses, Agencies: Here's What To Know, Feds Say Federal authorities are sounding the alarm over scams that impersonate well-known businesses and government agencies.  In 2023, data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alone show more than 330,000 reports of business impersonation scams and nearly 160,000 reports of government impersonation scams. That amounts to nearly half the frauds reported directly to the agency, the FTC said. Combined, reported losses to these impersonation scams topped $1.1 billion for the year, more than three times what consumers reported in 2020. Reports show an increasingly blurred line between busine…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
$10M Reward For Wanted Owner Of Russian Site For Cybercrimes Indicted In Eastern District $10M Reward For Wanted Owner Of Russian Site For Cybercrimes Indicted In Eastern District
$10M Most Wanted Reward For Denis Gennadievich Kulkov Federal officials have announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of a Russian national behind a website for criminals. Denis Gennadievich Kulkov, age 43, has been charged in a four-count indictment unsealed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York with access device fraud, computer intrusion, and money laundering, US District Attorney for the Eastern District Breon Peace announced on Friday, May 3. The Eastern District comprised Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Murder-For-Hire: Man Admits Paying $16K Bitcoin To Have NY Residents Killed Murder-For-Hire: Man Admits Paying $16K Bitcoin To Have NY Residents Killed
Murder-For-Hire: Man Admits Paying $16K Bitcoin To Have NY Residents Killed A Utah man has admitted to paying thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoin to arrange for the murders of two New York residents. Christopher Pence, age 43, of Cedar City, Utah appeared in Albany federal court on Wednesday, Dec. 6, and pleaded guilty to using the internet to solicit and pay for murder. According to prosecutors, Pence admitted to contacting the administrator of a website dedicated to arranging contract killings in 2021. He confessed to paying them $16,000 worth of Bitcoin to facilitate the murder of two Hoosick Falls residents in Rensselaer County. Pence gave the administrato…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Suffolk County IT Supervisor Accused Of Using County Resources To Mine Cryptocurrency Suffolk County IT Supervisor Accused Of Using County Resources To Mine Cryptocurrency
Suffolk County IT Supervisor Accused Of Using County Resources To Mine Cryptocurrency An information technology supervisor was arrested and accused of running a cryptocurrency mining operation out of Suffolk County offices, costing the county thousands of dollars in electricity.  Christopher Naples, age 42, of Mattituck, was arraigned on multiple felony charges Wednesday, Sept. 8, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini. Sini said Naples was charged with the following: Public corruption Third-degree grand larceny  Computer trespass Official misconduct “Mining cryptocurrency requires an enormous amount of resources, and miners have to navigate h…

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by Nicole Valinote
News
COVID-19: Beware Of These Five New Scammer Tactics, Utility Companies Warn COVID-19: Beware Of These Five New Scammer Tactics, Utility Companies Warn
Covid-19: Beware Of These Five New Scammer Tactics, Utility Companies Warn With the United States crossing a grim milestone as the COVID-19 death toll topped 500,000, utility companies are cautioning about new scams that have arisen in the past year as opportunistic fraudsters look to take advantage of the pandemic. Utility companies across the country have issued alerts regarding new scams as they seek to allow their customers to protect themselves from scammers exploiting the COVID-19 outbreak. According to officials, one of the largest threats involves scammers aggressively threatening to disconnect service, claiming that bills are past due, unless a payment is…

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by Zak Failla
News
Long Island Man Accused Of Selling Anabolic Steroids On Dark Web, Nassau DA Says Long Island Man Accused Of Selling Anabolic Steroids On Dark Web, Nassau DA Says
Long Island Man Accused Of Selling Anabolic Steroids On Dark Web, Nassau DA Says An undercover police investigation on Long Island into the sale of steroids on the dark web led to the arrest of a Suffolk County man who will now face prison time. Yaphank resident Christopher Camacho, 43, was arrested on Monday, Dec. 14, by Nassau County District Attorney investigators as part of “Operation Jerome,” an investigation into the sale of more than $1 million worth of steroids over the Internet. Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said that Camacho used the dark web to sell thousands of vials of trenbolone enanthate, an anabolic steroid and Schedule II Controlled Su…

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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: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic COVID-19: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic
Covid-19: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has provided cybercriminals the opportunity to get creative with their “sextortion” tactics as they exploit the pandemic, according to reports. In the past, criminals have targeted their victims by claiming they have embarrassing, salacious video proof, typically from a webcam, of a person watching sexual content. The scammers then seek to extort immediate payment in bitcoin or gift cards, threatening that otherwise, the alleged content will be disseminated on the Internet. However, according to new information released by the cybersecurity analysi…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
COVID-19: Alert Issued For Scam Involving Blackmail Threat Over Release Of Private Video COVID-19: Alert Issued For Scam Involving Blackmail Threat Over Release Of Private Video
Covid-19: Alert Issued For Scam Involving Blackmail Threat Over Release Of Private Video With more and more people working from home during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, law enforcement agencies are warning of a new online blackmailing scheme. There have been reports of a new scam that involves an email from a scammer to a victim claiming that they are in possession of recorded webcam footage of the victim watching pornography. According to police, the scammer implies that he has malware/remote access to a victim’s computer to record video. The suspect then threatens to share the alleged footage with the victim’s Facebook friends and family unless the victim pays the…

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by Zak Failla
News
Long Island Woman Sentenced For Providing Material Support To ISIS Long Island Woman Sentenced For Providing Material Support To ISIS
Long Island Woman Sentenced For Providing Material Support To ISIS A 30-year-old woman on Long Island will spend more than a decade behind bars for offering material support to ISIS. Brentwood resident Zoobia Shahnaz has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue announced. Specifically, Donoghue said Shahnaz provided more than $150,000 to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and attempted to travel to Syria to join ISIS.  According to court papers, between March 2017 and July 2017, Shahnaz defrauded numerous financial institutions to obtain money f…

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by Zak Failla
News
Scammers May Be Going Door To Door Posing As Workers, PSEG Says Scammers May Be Going Door To Door Posing As Workers, PSEG Says
Scammers May Be Going Door To Door Posing As Workers, Pseg Says Fraudsters on Long Island are stepping up their game, becoming more creative in door-to-door scams targeting utility customers, PSEG announced. PSEG Long Island issued an alert this week warning customers that some scammers have begun positing as PSEG workers, knocking on peoples’ doors in an attempt to ascertain cash. According to PSEG, the scammers have been demanding money through prepaid debit cards or bitcoin, threatening to turn off power to residences if the homeowner doesn’t comply. PSEG said that If one wants to verify the person at your door is an actual employee, there's a numbe…

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by Zak Failla
News
NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website
NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website Men from Connecticut and New York are among those charged in the takedown of the largest Darknet child pornography website. Jong Woo Son, 23, a South Korean national, was indicted this week for his operation of Welcome To Video, the largest child exploitation market by volume of content, officials said. Son has also been charged and convicted in South Korea and is currently in custody serving his sentence in South Korea.   An additional 337 site users residing in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jers…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Phone Scam Targeting Long Islanders Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Phone Scam Targeting Long Islanders
Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Phone Scam Targeting Long Islanders Officials on Long Island are warning area residents to be wary of a new telephone scam making the rounds with fraudsters attempting to solicit cash. Several Suffolk County residents and businesses have recently reported receiving fabricated automated recordings claiming to be from PSEG Long Island demanding a gift card to pay off a debt or service will be cut off. Police said that customers who are up to date on their las have been receiving phone calls from scammers that are spoofed to appear with “PSEG Long Island” on the Caller ID, threatening to shut down power unless they pay a sizable…

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by Zak Failla
News
Brentwood Man Charged With Distributing Crystal Meth, Ecstasy Brentwood Man Charged With Distributing Crystal Meth, Ecstasy
Brentwood Man Charged With Distributing Crystal Meth, Ecstasy A Long Island man is facing charges after allegedly using the dark web to distribute more than a million dollars worth of ecstasy. Lawrence Ross, 39, of Brentwood, has been charged in federal court in Central Islip for allegedly conspiring to distribute, and distributing, more than 10 kilograms of ecstasy and more than 45 grams of methamphetamine. Between November last year and this month, Ross allegedly sold controlled substances on the dark web, communicated with customers using the Wickr encrypted messaging application, distributed the drugs through the. mail, and accepted the Bitcoin c…

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by Zak Failla