Crime
Scammers steal billions from Americans every 12 months. What’s worse is that most scammers get away with it
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The cheaters win.
Sophisticated foreign criminals steal tens of billions of dollars from Americans every year, and the crime wave is expected to accentuate because the U.S. population ages and technologies like artificial intelligence make it easier than ever to commit fraud and get away with it.
Online and telephone scams have grown “exponentially,” overwhelming police and prosecutors who’re catching and convicting relatively few perpetrators, said Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.
Victims rarely get their a reimbursement. This includes seniors who’ve lost their life savings in marriage scams, grandchild scams, tech support scams, and other common scams.
“We’re at a crisis level of fraud in society,” Stokes said. “So many people have joined the fight because it’s pretty easy to be a criminal. They don’t have to follow any rules. And you can make a lot of money, and then there’s very little chance of getting caught.”
A recent case from Ohio through which an 81-year-old man fell victim to a scammer and allegedly responded with violence illustrates the challenge law enforcement faces.
Police say a person fatally shot an Uber driver after wrongly assuming she was involved in a plot to swindle $12,000 in alleged bail money for a relative. The driver fell victim to the identical scammer, sent to a house halfway between Dayton and Columbus to select up a package for delivery, in response to authorities.
Homeowner William Brock has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting at Lo-Letha Hall on March 25, however the conman who threatened Brock over the phone and set off the tragic chain of events stays at large greater than three months later.
Brock pleaded not guilty, claiming he feared for his life.
Scammers taking advantage
Internet and telephone crimes have turn into so common that law enforcement and adult protective services should not have enough resources to maintain up.
“It’s kind of like drinking from a fire hose,” said Brady Finta, a former FBI agent who oversaw investigations into elder fraud. “There’s so much of it, logistically and rationally, that it’s almost impossible to overcome now.”
Crimes may be difficult to analyze, especially those that originate overseas, where stolen funds are quickly converted into hard-to-trace cryptocurrency or transferred to offshore bank accounts.
Some police departments don’t take financial fraud as seriously as other crimes, which discourages and demoralizes victims, said Paul Greenwood, who has spent 22 years prosecuting seniors in San Diego.
“A lot of law enforcement thinks that because a victim is sending money voluntarily through gift cards or bank transfers or buying cryptocurrency, that it’s actually consensual,” said Greenwood, who travels the country teaching police tips on how to spot scams. “And that’s a big mistake, because it’s not. It’s not consensual. They’ve been scammed.”
Greenwood said federal prosecutors typically don’t intervene in a case until the fraud reaches a specific amount.
The U.S. Justice Department says it doesn’t impose a general monetary threshold for federal elder abuse prosecutions. But it acknowledged that a number of the 93 U.S. attorneys’ offices across the country may set their very own thresholds, giving priority to cases with more victims or greater financial impact. Federal prosecutors bring tons of of elder fraud and abuse cases every year.
The Federal Trade Commission says the “vast majority” of scams go unreported. Often, victims are reluctant to come back forward.
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A 74-year-old woman who was recently charged with robbing a credit union north of Cincinnati was the victim of a web based scam, in response to her family. Authorities say they consider the lady was taken advantage of by the scammer, but there is no record that she filed a proper police report.
“These people are very good at what they do, and they are very good at scamming people and getting money out of them,” said Fairview Township, Ohio, police sergeant Brandon McCroskey, who investigated the robbery. “I’ve seen people almost want to fight with police and bank tellers because … they believe they have to get that money out.”
A destructive plan
Older people have more wealth as a gaggle and are a vulnerable goal for fraudsters. The effects may be devastating because lots of these victims are past their working years and don’t have much time to recoup their losses.
The variety of complaints about elder fraud filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center increased 14% last 12 months, while losses increased 11% to $3.4 billion, in response to a brand new report from the FBI.
Other estimates put the annual loss much higher.
A 2023 AARP study calculated that Americans over 60 lose $28.3 billion a 12 months to fraud. The Federal Trade Commission, attempting to account for unreported losses, estimated that fraudsters stole a staggering $137 billion in 2022, including $48 billion from seniors. The study’s authors acknowledged there is a “significant degree of uncertainty.”
In San Diego, William Bortz, 80, said criminals stole nearly $700,000 of his family’s savings in an elaborate scheme involving a nonexistent Amazon order, a fake “returns processing center” in Hong Kong, fake bank statements and directions that Bortz must “sync bank accounts” to get the a reimbursement.
Bortz’s scammer was relentless and harassed him, harassing him with dozens of phone calls, and at one point took control of his computer.
Even though he was the victim of a criminal offense, Bortz struggles with guilt.
“Now I understand why so many elder abuse scams never get reported. Because when you think about it, you think, ‘How could I have been so stupid?’” said Bortz, who retired after a profession in banking, financial services and real estate.
His daughter, Ave Williams, said local police and the FBI tried hard to trace down the foreign fraudster and get well the cash but bumped into dead ends. The family blames Bortz’s bank, which Williams says ignored multiple red flags and allowed her father to make several large transfers over an eight-day period. The bank has denied wrongdoing, and the family’s lawsuit against it has been dismissed.
“Fraudsters are getting better,” Williams said. “We need our law enforcement agencies to be given the tools they need, and we need our banks to get better because they are the first line of defense.”
The Justice Department believes the industry must do more and the United States is not going to discover a strategy to resolve the difficulty through the courts.
“Private industry — including technology, retail, banking, fintech and telecommunications — must make it harder for fraudsters to defraud victims and launder victims’ money,” the agency said in an announcement to The Associated Press.
The way forward
Banking industry officials told a Senate subcommittee in May that they were investing heavily in latest technologies to stem fraud, “and some of them are very promising.” The American Bankers Association says it is working on a program to coordinate real-time communications amongst banks to higher flag suspicious activity and curb the flow of stolen funds.
But industry officials said banks can’t prevent fraud on their very own. They said the U.S. needs an overarching national technique to combat fraud, calling the federal government’s current efforts scattershot and uncoordinated.
Law enforcement and industry need to affix forces to combat fraud faster and more effectively, said Finta, a former FBI agent who founded a nonprofit called the National Elder Fraud Coordination Center aimed toward strengthening cooperation between law enforcement and huge corporations equivalent to Walmart, Amazon and Google.
“There are very, very smart people and there are very powerful, wealthy companies that want this to stop,” he said. “So I think we have an opportunity to make a bigger impact and help our brothers and sisters in law enforcement who are struggling with this tsunami of fraud.”
Crime
Author Essence Spotlight: Vanessa Miller “The Filling Station” – Essence
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“Author Spotlight” by Essence sheds light on the very best -selling writer of Vanessa Miller and her recent book “The Filing Station”
Author of the bestsellers Vanessa Miller He understands that a well -written and studied story has the facility to rework history. She is the writer of over 55 books, in addition to recognized bestsellers and. In her latest historical novel, which can be published on March 11, Miller pushes the layers from probably the most terrifying and hidden moments within the history of America, the Tulsa Race massacre. It gives insight into the resistance of black within the face of a destructive loss, emphasizes the displacement of black people from the estated land and the best way generational wealth has been systematically stolen from many communities for generations.
It is 1921, and the sisters Margaret and Evelyn have recently avoided devastation, which has just taken place in Greenwood, a black community in Oklahomie. They find shelter on a black station filling the threat On route 66 And it’s a paradise for them as black travelers to process their experiences during treatment and preparing for the reconstruction of their community. Miller recently talked to the term of this book and the heritage of making “safe spaces” in order that Czarni could have a spot to talk and breathe life back into themselves.
In the news recentlyThere has been more evidence in regards to the Tulsa breed massacre, and Miller understands the importance of proper archiving history for future generations.
Hazard -filling station It is an actual place positioned on the historic route 66 in Luther in Oklahoma and it was an actual place where many black found shelter when their homes, corporations, churches and libraries were burned to the bottom.
“I started to study Hazard -filling stationAnd I knew that I could connect with what happened in Greenwood with the “protected marinade” of the idea at the filling station. What do you [we all] I have to understand that when I examined this, I discovered that it was the most terrifying crime ever committed against black slaves in America. But we are resistant people and we still enter. “
During the research of the book, Miller was shocked by silence, which was practiced by each black and white communities. “Over two days, the white crowd burned houses and firms, killed over 300 people and left hundreds of homeless people. And the proven fact that it was a story that was not talked about. People were silent and I imagine that they were silent due to fear. Many people in a white crowd were replaced by a sheriff in Tulsa. When there’s a system that’s against you, it’s difficult to talk. And a lot of their children didn’t know what happened in Tulsa until they grew up. Miller continued to share that each black and white families were silent because they desired to protect their families.
There are sometimes narratives about deprivation of black civil rights throughout the history, but it is rather necessary to grasp that after providing the probabilities of black communities bloom and distinguished themselves perfectly. And although Black Wall Street can confirm this, Miller discovered black cities Wilmington, North Carolina– They prospered well and were mecca. For this reason, the cities were set on fire.
“Officials in Tulsa decided that they wanted to sell the land that belonged to native Americans, and decided that they no longer need this land that was promised native Americans because they want to earn money on it.” But officials who sold this land didn’t expect that the black people have a way of pondering to those areas, meet and construct their very own cities – they usually did. And the characters within the intimate will show these living people.
“There are only a few descendants of the live massacre, but when I created characters for this book, I received access Michelle Burdex and Greenwood Cultural Center to the archived interviews from Tulsa Massacre, which survived the massacre and their first person accounts. And they have these interviews on the wall while walking around the Greenwood Culture Center. And it was such a blessing to see them. ” Miller emphasized the importance of staying by heart, which is why each chapter and submission of the book incorporates a direct epigraph from the archives of the Greenwood Culture Center or Red Cross Relinal Report. These interviews and reports informed how Miller created every character and their experiences.
“It was very open. By reading the book, you will notice that the blacks have been forced to work with every relief received. The Red Cross Tulsa help report states that they provide relief for destructive tragedies, but this was the only time in which the city and officials did not do it, and it is important to understand why. “Miller said:” I really believe it was because they were black, and this report, as well as the mayor and other officials in Tulsa, said that Black were a servant of people class and that they would have to work on any financial relief. I thought that it is so important to place these epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter, because I wanted people who read them to see what was happening during this period. Not only the story I tell, but I want you [the reader] To see this in real time, the real reality of people. “
For those that wish to enter a historical novel, based loosely on real events, is a written work that immediately surrounds the reader right into a time and place that ought to never be removed. “This happened with Greenwood, but the beauty in this story is that every time they tried to stop them, they came back and arose.” Miller calls on a gene with and millennials in order that they don’t accept America’s history as a right.
“I really believe that those who do not know their history may be doomed to repeat it because they do not make contacts between what is happening in their daily lives and what has already happened in the past. And reading historical books and non-fiction books is a great way. “But his ability to present the tragedy of this terrifying incident with a flash of hope is distinguished. There isn’t any must fear the present generation, simply or vigilant.
“People gave us a plan if you just read what happened before. We already have a plan, which is why the book also has a message of hope. We have always looked at God. We have always believed on a better day and we fight for it. And that is why it was important to show Margaret’s fight with her faith in this book. After such devastation happened to you, it is easy to question your faith. And I needed her [Margaret] To leave this journey and start understanding God’s love for us, even in the face of man’s hatred for us. “
Vanessa is currently published by Harpercollins/Thomas Nelson. He lives in North Carolina along with her husband and family. She graduated from Capital University with an organizational communication diploma.
Crime
An alleged serial killer responsible for 8.6% of Montgomery killings in 2024.
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The man from Alabama was arrested on Tuesday, February 26 and accused of allegedly killing no less than 14 people and shooting 29 others in Birmingham over the past one and a half years.
On his Facebook page, the Police Department in Birmingham announced in many posts that an arrest warrant was issued for a 22-year-old Damien McDaniel Fairfield for murders Fireman Birmingham Jordan MeltonIN Mia NicksonAND Anthony Lamar Love Jr.
In the subsequent post, the Police Department revealed that McDaniel was arrested with one other suspect in one of the deaths, 41-year-old Charles Nance from Pinson.
WRBC 6 News announced that McDaniel was accused On 37 crimes it has five different shootings in three months in 2024. He is one of the few accused involved in a mass shooting at five points south and mass shooting at Trendsetters Lounge.
Before the last allegations, he was accused of killing 11 and shooting 29 people.
The police in Birmingham said that recent allegations of capital murder related To the killing of Nickson and love, there are matters of murder for rent. McDaniel is detained without bonds in the correction department in Alabama on the Kilby corrective plant.
“We were aware that further investigations were carried out, which were separate from pending matters,” said John Robbins, McDaniels in a press release, According to WVTM 13. “So we should not very surprised by additional fees.
“The defense team will not refrain from providing our client with vigorous defense, which our justice system requires. The defense team understands and appreciates the pain and suffering that the family and friends of all victims experienced and will continue to experience when these matters will act in court. We are not blind at this aspect of any case of murder. “
According to al.comIf McDaniel is found guilty of 13 killings that took place in 2024, McDaniel shall be personally responsible for 8.6% of 152 violent deaths in Birmingham last 12 months.
Last 12 months, the police in Birmingham announced that McDaniel was accused of killing Diontronet Brown on September 19, and after the death of Tahj Booker, Carlos McCain, Anitra Holloman and Roderick Patterson at five points to the south of the mass shooting on September 21. Then, the subsequent day, Jamarcus McIntyre was killed and McDaniel was accused of death.
In October 2024, McDaniel was accused of killing Markeshia Gettings, Stevie McGhee, Angela Weatherspoon and Lerandus Anderson at The Trendsetter Lounge July 13, in addition to the death of Charlie Moore in his apartment on August 13.
(Tagstotransate) crime
Crime
“Wags to Richens” was the perfect picture of the reality show, and then he became exploiting – essence
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Thanks to the kindness of Netflix/Tudum
IN The latest reality Netflix series To follow the wives and girls of the best athletes and rappers, I checked all the boxes of the reality show quintessence: juicy rumors, suspicious readings, lover quarrels, beautiful but terrifying opinion of women and excellent men who support them. On the surface, this program had juice, but after I kept watched, I noticed that the story was plagued by contradictions and insensitivity to the race.
In the whole series, his bee queen, real estate broker and founder Allure Realty LLC, Sharelle RosadoIt proclaims to other women the importance of good popularity, especially when you want to succeed. We’ve all heard this idea before, but this concept becomes problematic when Rosado gets a colleague from the forged Lastonia “Stoni” Leviston’s Sexual tape against her. Leviston, the mother of rapper Rick Ross’s first child, is initially rejected by the group because of the scandal from sex tape greater than 10 years ago.
The discussion about Leviston’s sex tape was difficult to watch. While sitting with one other member of the forged Alexis Studemire, the former wife of the former NBA star and Olympian Amar’s Studemire, Leviston explains that the former partner has released a video that has sex without her consent as pornography as a pornography of revenge after they fell apart. While Rick Ross and 50 cents foughtFormer Leviston allegedly sent a video to the rapper, to which he then published a video on his website.
In one of the early scenes of the series, Rosado admits that he doesn’t see how he spends time with Leviston because of sexual tape and accuses her of escort. Leviston violently denies the claims of the escort, but Rosado keeps the revenge of pornography over the forged of the forged feels disgusting. Black women are usually not only disproportionately exposed to victims Sexual offensesBut we reveal our perpetrators less often. Leviston undertook legal proceedings and wonAcquiring justice for a criminal offense against her. Instead, the series has a sensitive and sensitive topic and uses it for entertainment. She is forced to look weak and must consistently defend herself against something that was beyond her control. It is a miracle that she finished the season after she was treated poorly.
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And if the topic of popularity is such a fantastic matter, you may only wonder how the yerhnson “Ochocinco” yerb Rosado, who was engaged in athlete at the time, evaporates with him relationships, as if it was a reward or privilege. While the assumption of the series is that girls show their relationships with athletes and artists, in addition to a profession, the engagement of couple looked lower than perfect. It is tough to ignore bloody paintings that became popular after the retired footballer lost his fiancee Evelyn Lozada (also a star in VH1) in 2012-in the result he was cut off from Miami Dolfs.
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The figure of Johnson was fully presented when he and Rosado sat down for dinner with their lawyers to discuss the prenup. When the lawyer Rosado presents the idea of an infidelity clause, including a penalty of $ 500,000 in the event that Johnson cheats, he becomes clearly nervous and says: “It doesn’t make sense”, after that “it basically tells me that he is not ready for a wedding.” The funniest thing was that the clause has some grounds, on condition that Johnson was accused by other partners, including Rosado. At the time of my writing, he began eight children outside of marriage with many ladies. Did Rosado not take this into consideration when assessing his popularity, or does his fame slow him?
Don’t get me incorrect, I’m for ladies living a soft life, there’s nothing that black women deserve more. However, once you spend time defending and the fight for a person who doesn’t fight for you to such an extent that he becomes toxic, it is time to pull the plug. Just then, your good girls are in search of you and encourage you to search for changes. Unfortunately, Marand “MJAE” Johnson, the youngest of the group who divides children from Disturbing rapper Kodak BlackThey were left to take care of herself. Although the rapper never appears in the series, he absorbs the story of a young mother when he struggles with their relationship because of his constant cheating. The rapper also has Active drug problem And he was accused Just a few numbers assault and even kidnapping. Recently, Emcee was seen in Florida on the street, eating chicken, probably on drugs.
In the season, Johnson has its own entries with the law after she had a quarrel with the mother of other rapper’s children. Unfortunately, during the interview of confession, Johnson admits that if she had ever gone to prison, it could be an assault. This is the moment of the program that I might expect to enter advice or forged to organize an intervention to help her leave this dangerous environment. From what we, the viewers, lacked the sister’s sense of sister, which you’d often see with women’s forged. Ultimately, Johnson leaves her to handle, despite her crying for help.
Nothing on this series shocked me greater than seeing how Julianna “Yesjulz” Goddard appeared on my screen. The history of disrespect has an impact on social media Black community and aiming Black women. However, when the first one Kanye West An worker – publicly dismissed in 2024 for violating her NDA – was caught in front of the black -attacking camera and was broadcast, I knew that this series reached a brand new level.
In the third episode, driving in a restaurant with a forged, Goddard is asked to join the table with Leviston, her best friend Gary, Johnson and a friend of the series Kene Danana. Before joining the Goddard table, Danair He conducted a discussion, rightly raising the racist popularity of Julz. When Goddard sits down, Johnson and Gary tell her that Danair calls her racist. Gary stands in Solidarity with Goddard, saying something in the melody, I’m black, and Goddard loves me, insinuating me despite the growing evidence against her, there isn’t a way that this woman who appeared on the show of swaying Cornrows. Danair stands 10 fingers and confronted with influential comments about black women. Goddard immediately becomes defensive and asks Danair, a black woman, which she does for her own culture – as if she wanted to compare and insinuate that she (Goddard) does more. Symptoms are mentioned, Goddard hits Danair, and they each go to blows.
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The difficult reality is that girls like Goddard will develop, because there’ll at all times be a bunch that permits them to support them. In the entire program, in confession and conversations, the team openly appreciates the accusation against Goddard, but decides to ignore them only because they didn’t witness them first hand. This way of pondering is dangerous – it allows opportunists to proceed using the community they use. When we don’t protect our spaces collectively, we strengthen these shapes, giving them tools to proceed dividing us. Are these women so desperately in the matter of white validation that they’re ready to let someone like Goddard sit at their table and feast at their very own expense?
This program isn’t easy to convene. I appreciate complex characters and a layered story story, but there’s a small border between the nuance drama and the reckless exploitation. When deeply sensitive problems, resembling abuse and racism, are reduced to the value of shock and spectacle – especially in a month of black history – this isn’t only irresponsible; This is harmful. At one point we must ask: who does this narrative really serve? And more importantly, at whose cost? If it’s at the cost of black, then the reality TV lover, like me, has no problem with changing the channel. We went an excessive amount of and we deserve significantly better.
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