Fraudsters are quick to exploit uncertainty and the travel disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East is no exception. We're already seeing criminals target people seeking refunds for booked travel and holidays, sending them a link to supposedly receive a refund but instead people's accounts are being charged.
Between August and January, Dematteo washed - or cleaned details, changing the payment information - a total of 14 checks stolen while in transit through the U.S. Postal Service. A dozen of the checks belonged to an 86-year-old Bay Shore woman who lost $17,315, police said, while a 73-year-old Patchogue woman lost $3,414 from two other checks.
Sommers was arrested Thursday in Pittsfield, where authorities say he had been living under the victim's identity at Soldier On, a facility that provides transitional housing for military veterans. According to charging documents, Sommers allegedly began impersonating a real U.S. Army veteran as early as 1994. That veteran served honorably in the Army from 1979 to 1982.
The scam typically involves state-backed fraudsters applying for remote IT work in the west, using fake identities and the help of facilitators in the country where the company targeted is based. Once hired, they send their wages back to Kim Jong-un's state and have even been known to threaten to release sensitive company data after being fired.
Fitzsimmons was shot last summer when three other North Andover officers arrived at her home on Phillips Brook Road to serve her a restraining order. She was on leave at the time due to struggles with postpartum depression, she has said publicly.
In the second amended complaint, Guo claims that after she was the victim of identity theft, the financial institution and credit bureau defendants continued to report and attempt to collect fraudulent debts after she provided proof of the fraud. In doing such she alleges that they violated federal and California consumer protection laws by failing to properly investigate and correct her credit reports.
Matthew A. Akande, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to eight years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Akande was also ordered to pay $1,393,230 in restitution. Akande was arrested in October 2024 at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom at the request of the United States and extradited to the United States on March 5, 2025.
Identity theft: Saratoga residents reported that someone used their personal information to access their investment account and made several fraudulent transactions for a loss of about $33,000. Theft by false pretenses: A Saratoga resident reported contacting someone after completing an internet search for garage door companies. The victim sent money but never received the door for a total loss of about $2,724.
From April 2023 to February 2024, the U.S. attorney's office said Nguyen sent emails threatening to kill a man identified in court documents as T.H. and his wife and included screenshots of texts discussing hiring a hit man for $15,000 to kill T.H.'s wife. Nguyen also stalked five employees at the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, sometimes impersonating T.H.'s wife and threatening the consulate, federal prosecutors said.
The e-commerce giant's data breach exposed 33.7 million customers-nearly two-thirds of the entire country's population-after hackers operated undetected for five months through overseas servers. Police have identified a former Chinese employee as the primary suspect, who exploited stolen encryption keys and authentication vulnerabilities to access customer names, phone numbers, email addresses, and delivery information. The suspect fled the country before authorities could make an arrest.
Identity theft: Saratoga residents reported that someone used their personal information to access their financial investment account and made fraudulent transactions totaling approximately $12,600. The transactions were cancelled, and no financial loss was incurred. Jan. 10 Theft by false pretenses: A Saratoga resident reported that someone hacked a former coworker's social media account, posted a vehicle for sale and collected approximately $12,000 from them via wire transfer, but then never provided the vehicle.
British identity packages, including an ID scan, a selfie, and a dossier of personal data, can be purchased by criminals on the dark web for as little as 30, new research suggests. As identity theft continues to rise, experts have discovered the sale of national identity documents, driving licences, credit card details and 2,000 UK frequent traveller passports. The information can be exploited in multiple ways and used to apply for credit cards, mortgages, car loans, or to open bank accounts.
A Brazilian former police chief, who fled the country after he was convicted as an accomplice in the attempted coup by Brazil's far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, has been arrested in Paraguay, according to the country's immigration agency. Silvinei Vasques was arrested on Friday at the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Paraguay's capital Asuncion, the Paraguayan National Migration Directorate (DNM) said in a statement posted on its website.
The Online Tool Center explained, that little barcode on the bottom contains all of your personal information, which is used when you scan your passport, allowing "border control officers and other authorities to quickly retrieve and verify your details such as your name, nationality, and passport number." The website noted the barcode also contains a ton of useful information that agents can use to assist you if your passport is stolen.
Criminal threats, dissuade victim, resisting/delaying arrest: At 9:37 a.m., deputies responded to a disturbance in front of the Bank Bar on Big Basin Way. An investigation revealed the suspect made criminal threats toward the victim and threatened to kill the victim if he called 911 to report the incident. The suspect resisted but was ultimately arrested and booked into main jail.
