Norwalk, CT
News
Norwalk Man Sentenced For Defrauding Service Member Of $57K Norwalk Man Sentenced For Defrauding Service Member Of $57K
Norwalk Man Sentenced For Defrauding Service Member Of $57K A 35-year-old Fairfield County man has been sentenced after stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a United States service member to pay for personal expenses. Christopher Teixeira, formerly of Darien and now living in Norwalk, was sentenced in Hartford district court to six months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for stealing more than $57,000 from a former member of the U.S. Navy. The service member was scheduled to receive a medical severance payment from the Navy in January 2017, U.S. Attorney John Durham said. The victim provided his “MyPay” login and passwo…

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by Zak Failla
Pascack Valley, NJ
Police & Fire
HEADS UP: Home Security Contractor Who Put Camera In River Vale Girl’s Room Was Sex Offender HEADS UP: Home Security Contractor Who Put Camera In River Vale Girl’s Room Was Sex Offender
Heads UP: Home Security Contractor Who Put Camera In River Vale Girl’s Room Was Sex Offender Something wasn’t right about the so-called security expert who installed surveillance cameras around a River Vale couple’s home – and in their young daughter’s playroom. Things got creepier when he insisted that the couple give him the password for their new surveillance system so that he could “troubleshoot” when necessary. It gets worse: They later discovered that the four exterior cameras that he installed fed directly into their DVR but not the one that he put in their daughter’s room. It turns out that Nathan Shane Follis was accused of collecting child pornography in Missouri. He’d …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Darien, CT
Police & Fire
Info Released On Darien Victim Of Nationwide Bitcoin Bomb Threat Hoax Info Released On Darien Victim Of Nationwide Bitcoin Bomb Threat Hoax
Info Released On Darien Victim Of Nationwide Bitcoin Bomb Threat Hoax A Darien wine shop was one of the thousands of businesses last week that received a bomb threat email that asks for Bitcoin currency. The incident took place around 1:36 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, when SipStirs, at 1053 Post Road, notified Darien Police they had received an email, said Darien Police. The complainant informed officers that he received an email from an unknown party indicating that an explosive device had been secreted at that address. The email stated that unless the recipient transferred $20,000 in Bitcoin currency to an account, the explosive would be detonated. Th…

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by Kathy Reakes
Darien, CT
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
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
'Digital Blackmail': FBI Hunts Iranian Duo Named In $30M International 'Ransomware' Plot 'Digital Blackmail': FBI Hunts Iranian Duo Named In $30M International 'Ransomware' Plot
'Digital Blackmail': FBI Hunts Iranian Duo Named In $30M International 'Ransomware' Plot Two Iranian men were being sought by the FBI for what one official called “21st-century digital blackmail” that netted them more than $6 million while racking up over $30 million in losses to hospitals, municipalities and public agencies across North America. Faramarz Shahi Savandi, 34, and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, 27, operated an international computer hacking and extortion racket for more than 2½ years, a grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court in Newark charges. Working from inside Iran, Savandi and Mansouri authored “SamSam Ransomware” that was “capa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Stamford, CT
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
New Canaan, CT
News
Beware Of This IRS Tax Scam, New Canaan Police Warn Beware Of This IRS Tax Scam, New Canaan Police Warn
Beware Of This IRS Tax Scam, New Canaan Police Warn Officials with the New Canaan Police Department are warning employers and employees in Fairfield County to be aware of opportunistic IRS scammers who may attempt to scam residents in the area. In an alert issued on Monday, the department warned residents that “as you may be preparing and filing tax returns, be aware of IRS scammers,” who may attempt to intimidate vulnerable people over the phone with threats of arrest if one doesn’t pay with an iTunes gift card. Police said that under no circumstance should one provide a potential caller with any personal information and that one should han…

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by Zak Failla
Armonk, NY
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