From May 2012 to March 2015, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received complaints regarding criminals hosting fraudulent government services websites in order to acquire Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and to collect fraudulent fees from consumers.

Although the volume and loss amounts associated with these websites are minimal to date, the victims are having their PII data compromised which may be used by criminals for any number of other illicit activities, ranging from the creation of fraudulent IDs and passports to fraudulent loans and tax refunds. The PII can include the victim’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address, social security number, date of birth, and mother’s maiden name.

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This is how the scheme usually happens: victims use a search engine to search for government services such as obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or replacement social security card. The fraudulent criminal websites are the first to appear in search results, prompting the victims to click on the fraudulent government services website. The victim completes the required fraudulently posted forms for the government service they need. The victim submits the form online, believing they are providing their PII to government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, or similar agency based on the service they need. Once the forms are completed and submitted, the fraudulent website usually requires a fee to complete the service requested. The fees typically range from $29 to $199 based on the government service requested. Once the fees are paid the victim is notified they need to send their birth certificate, driver’s license, employee badge, or other personal items to a specified address. The victim is then told to wait a few days to several weeks for processing. By the time the victim realizes it is a scam, they may have had extra charges billed to their credit/debit card, had a third-party designee added to their EIN card, and never received the service(s) or documents requested. Additionally, all of their PII data has been compromised by the criminals running the websites and can be used for any number of illicit purposes. The potential harm gets worse for those who send their birth certificate or other government-issued identification to the perpetrator.

Follow-up calls or e-mails to the perpetrator(s) are normally ignored and many victims report the customer service telephone numbers provided are out of service. The FBI recommends that consumers ensure they are communicating or requesting services/merchandise from a legitimate source by verifying the entity. When dealing with government websites, look for the .gov domain instead of a .com domain (e.g. www.ssa.gov and not www.ssa.com).

Below are some consumer tips when using government services or contacting agencies online:

• Use search engines or other websites to research the advertised services or person/company you plan to deal with.
• Search the Internet for any negative feedback or reviews on the government services company, their Web site, their e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, or other searchable identifiers.
• Research the company policies before completing a transaction.
• Be cautious when surfing the Internet or responding to advertisements and special offers.
• Be cautious when dealing with persons/companies from outside the country.
• Maintain records for all online transactions.

As a consumer, if you suspect you are a victim of an Internet-related crime, you may file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov.

Continuous Web site defacements are being perpetrated by individuals sympathetic to the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL) a.k.a. Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS). The defacements have affected Web site operations and the communication platforms of news organizations, commercial entities, religious institutions, federal/state/local governments, foreign governments, and a variety of other domestic and international Web sites. Although the defacements demonstrate low-level hacking sophistication, they are disruptive and often costly in terms of lost business revenue and expenditures on technical services to repair infected computer systems.

Technical Details

Researchers continue to identify WordPress Content Management System (CMS) plug-in vulnerabilities, which could allow malicious actors to take control of an affected system. Some of these vulnerabilities were exploited in the recent Web site defacements noted above. Software patches are available for identified vulnerabilities.

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Successful exploitation of the vulnerabilities could result in an attacker gaining unauthorized access, bypassing security restrictions, injecting scripts, and stealing cookies from computer systems or network servers. An attacker could install malicious software; manipulate data; or create new accounts with full user privileges for future Web site exploitation.

Threat

The FBI assesses that the perpetrators are not members of the ISIL terrorist organization. These individuals are hackers using relatively unsophisticated methods to exploit technical vulnerabilities and are utilizing the ISIL name to gain more notoriety than the underlying attack would have otherwise garnered. Methods being utilized by hackers for the defacements indicate that individual Web sites are not being directly targeted by name or business type. All victims of the defacements share common WordPress plug-in vulnerabilities easily exploited by commonly available hacking tools.

Defense

The FBI recommends the following actions be taken:

• Review and follow WordPress guidelines:
  http://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress
• Identify WordPress vulnerabilities using free available tools such as
  http://www.securityfocus.com/bid,
  http://cve.mitre.org/index.html,
  https://www.us-cert.gov/
• Update WordPress by patching vulnerable plugins:
  https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/patch
• Run all software as a non-privileged user, without administrative privileges, to diminish the effects of a successful attack
• Confirm that the operating system and all applications are running the most updated versions

Clarksville Police Detective Kevin Rushing is searching for a Missing Person. The missing person is 18-year-old Christian Lombardo from Clarksville. Christian has been missing since Thursday March 2nd, 2015.

Christian left on foot and has no vehicle or driver’s license. Christian was last seen in the Patrick Place subdivision off Tiny Town Road near Exit 1.

He was wearing khaki cargo shorts with a navy blue cotton v-neck t-shirt, brown sandals, and glasses.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

He is 5’10” and weighs 165 pounds. He has short, brown curly hair and brown eyes.

If anyone has any information in regards to Christian Lombardo’s whereabouts, please call CPD Detective Rushing at 931.648.0656 Ext. 5383.

The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office is warning citizens of a tax scam where citizens are reporting that their taxes were filed by someone else.

http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html

“Our Consumer Protection Division has received numerous calls and written complaints from citizens who are rightly concerned that someone else has already filed taxes using their name and Social Security number,” said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

According to the Attorney General’s office, scammers are using common-tax preparation software to submit fake tax returns. They will use a modest salary and an average refund amount in order to not raise suspicions. The scammers will then have the refunds deposited to a pre-paid debit card or store gift card for each fake filing.

“This scam is scary for taxpayers who, through no fault of their own, have their identities stolen by cybercriminals,” Morrisey said. “But it’s also important for citizens to remember that if there is a problem with their taxes, neither the state tax department nor the IRS will ever initiate contact with taxpayers by telephone, email, or text and ask them for personal or financial information. Consumers should report any tax impersonation scams immediately.”

We’ve obtained a 911 call made moments after police say Jimmy Hood shot and killed his wife, Rosena Hood.

Jimmy Hood: “I need an ambulance over at 46 Echo Hollow Road, Gun shot wound. There’s a gun shot wound. We were playing around with the gun, and it went off.”

Dispatcher: “Can you tell me where she’s shot at?”

Jimmy Hood: “In the stomach.”

Dispatcher: “Okay.”

State Police said that he recklessly shot his wife during a party. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital and police said that Hood is charged with Manslaughter Second Degree. Officials said that it is possible the shot happened in self defense.

http://liarcatchers.com/wrongful_death.html

A friend of the couple, Andrew Worley, was at the party where the shooting happened.

“I guess when he went to pull it, her finger hit the trigger, and that’s when it shot her,” Worley said. “That’s how I heard the story.”

Worley said that Rosena was not acting like herself that night.

He said she had purchased a gun a few days prior and that Rosena had used it on the neighbor’s dog.

The neighbor said she turned the gun over to her husband and a struggle ensued. He said it’s possible that the shooting may have been a terrible accident.

Rosena leaves behind a 14 year-old-daughter who is staying with family since the incident.

A former deputy of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, who previously admitted to using evidence collected from an investigation to pay for personal expenses, has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison and two months of home incarceration.

U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove sentenced Matthew Christian Brown, 32, for theft of government property and ordered him to pay $17,840.54 in restitution. Of that amount, $9,900 will be paid to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Under federal law, Brown must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence; and following his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years. According to his plea agreement, Brown, who also served as the chief narcotics officer, executed a search warrant at a suspect’s residence, where he seized a watch and a ring.

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Instead of logging those items as evidence, Brown kept them for himself. He further admitted that he sold the ring back to the suspect.

Brown served as a deputy sheriff from May 2007 until December 2012.

Police are investigating what they are calling a disturbing case of elderly neglect in Wayne County.

Investigators say they found 72-year-old Joan Cox in her bed living in deplorable conditions in a home in Monticello.  Her son and caretaker, Gary Cox, allegedly padlocked the door from the outside.

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Inside, police say they found human waste and dead animals

Gary Cox was arrested and charged with unlawful imprisonment and animal cruelty.

The Hackettstown Police Department is seeking the public’s help in locating a missing person: Krysten Mendez, 24, a woman who is 5-foot-4, 194 pounds, with black eyes and black hair.

Last seen leaving her home yesterday on Sharp Street at 10:30 a.m., Hackettstown Police became involved around 8:30 p.m. when her family had not heard from her in several hours, according to Sgt. Darren Tynan.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

While no foul play is suspected, Tynan said it was “out of the norm” for her to do “something like this.”

Mendez was last wearing a black T-shirt, red shorts, a silver ring on each hand and carrying two black and white duffel bag type purses.

During their search for Mendez, police are asking for information from the public. If anyone has any information that can assist in helping safely locate her, police ask them to call 911 or the Hackettstown Police Department at 908-852-3300.

Additionally, police have entered her characteristics into a database that automatically searches categories including unidentified bodies. Tynan said that nothing has turned up at this time.

Mendez frequently visited New York City so police are looking into that as a possibility, but Tynan said that the circumstances of her disappearance are unknown at this point.

Police continue the search for three inmates who broke out of the Marshall County Jail.

Police say Travis L. Bonapfel, 27, Gage A. Jobe, 23, and Jeremiah J. Nicholas, 21, escaped from the jail on Friday. On Saturday, officers found discarded jail clothing near an area where somebody stole a parks department truck. Police say coveralls were also stolen from a shed.

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The stolen vehicle was a red, 2003 Ford F-150 with Kentucky Official Tag K9997.

Officials say they don’t know where the trio might go.