Category: MIL-OSI

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Oregon FBI Tech Tuesday: Building a Digital Defense Against Romance Frauds

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. Today: Building a digital defense against love gone wrong. Last week we talked about traditional romance scams where your new life partner gets you to send money to him for some work, travel, or medical emergency. He’s half a world away and will visit you any day—with promises to pay you back—but neither he nor the money will ever show up. 

Today we are going to talk about another version of this scheme which the scammer sends the victim money, usually in the form of a cashier’s check, money order, or wire transfer. The virtual love claims he is out of the country and unable to cash the instruments or receive the funds directly. He asks the victim to redirect the funds back to him or to an associate to whom he purportedly owes money. In this situation, the victim becomes a money mule.  

Acting as a money mule—allowing others to use your bank account or conducting financial transactions on behalf of others—not only jeopardizes your financial security and compromises your personally identifiable information, but it is also a crime. Protect yourself by refusing to send or receive money on behalf of individuals and businesses for which you are not personally and professionally responsible.  

The most important thing to remember is that you should never agree to move money through your bank account or any other bank account. That can be illegal and put you in legal jeopardy. 

One final warning on physical safety and romance scams: If you are planning to meet someone in person who you have met online, the FBI recommends using caution, especially if you plan to travel to a foreign country. Do not travel alone. Check the State Department’s Travel Advisories before arranging any travel (http://travel.state.gov/). Victims who have agreed to meet in person with an online love interest have been reported missing, injured, and, in one instance, deceased. 

If you believe are a victim of an online scam, you should report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Center at www.ic3.gov or call your FBI local office.

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FBI Oklahoma City Field Office to Host Virtual Diversity Agent Recruitment Event

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

(OKLAHOMA CITY)—Under a unique hiring initiative, the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office will be hosting a virtual Diversity Agent Recruitment (DAR) event to attract highly qualified candidates for the Special Agent position. This event aims to encourage members of underrepresented communities—especially women and minorities—to consider becoming special agents.

FBI investigations are often extremely challenging, complex, and tend to span the globe. Having agents with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds provides us a better understanding of the communities we serve and improves our ability to successfully investigate while still protecting civil liberties.

The FBI’s DAR event will allow the opportunity to discuss the rewards of pursuing an exciting career as an FBI special agent and the critical role a diverse workforce plays in the success of the FBI. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear about and ask questions related to:

  • Life as a new agent (including training at the FBI Academy)
  • Balancing a high-energy job with family
  • Typical day in the life of an FBI special agent (hint: there isn’t one!)
  • Working cases that make a difference in your community

The DAR event will be held virtually on March 25, 2021, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Pre-registration is required at: https://apply.fbijobs.gov

You can also access the pre-registration by going to fbijobs.gov, find “search jobs”, and type in DAR OKC.

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FBI Offers Reward in Search for Wanted Murder Suspect

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

YONKERS, NY—The FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Yonkers Police Department are asking for the public’s help in finding a man wanted for murder. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of Jerome Wilson.

Investigators say Wilson shot and killed Chazz Mitchell in front of 63 Oak Street on August 25, 2020. Wilson was last seen with dreadlocks and a goatee. Investigators say Wilson has ties to Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Poughkeepsie, New York. He is also believed to have family and ties to Albany, New York, Niagara Falls, New York, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Wilson should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about Wilson or the shooting is asked to call the FBI at 212-384-1000. They could receive a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest.

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FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate to Keynote Boston Conference on Cyber Security

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

FBI and Boston College team up to hold virtual fifth annual Boston cyber security conference

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate will deliver the keynote address during the fifth annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security, streaming live beginning at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3.

Abbate, who last month was named deputy director, supervising the FBI’s domestic and international investigative and intelligence activities, will discuss the FBI’s new cyber strategy, the current threat landscape, and the importance of strong partnerships in combatting the cyber threat.

Abbate’s keynote address will be followed by two panel discussions. The first panel, “The State of Cyber and National Security,” will feature FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta. The second panel, “2021 Cyber Threat Intelligence Index and Cost of a Data Breach: Methods and Processes to Secure Your Business and Data,” will feature Nick Rossman, global threat intelligence lead with IBM’s Security X-Force.

The three-hour virtual conference will bring together cybersecurity leaders from the academic, analytic, operations, research, corporate, national security, and law enforcement arenas to coordinate their efforts to create a more secure cyberspace.

The conference is the result of a partnership between the FBI and the Masters in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Program at BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies.

  • Who: FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate
  • What: Keynote address on cyber threats and security
  • Where: Virtual event for registered guests
  • When: Noon, Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Media are asked to contact Boston College or the FBI to confirm attendance and receive a link for the conference live stream.

Please contact:

  • Ed Hayward, Boston College Office of University Communications: ed.hayward@bc.edu; (617) 552-4826 or (617) 922-8024.
  • Kristen Setera, FBI Boston Division, Office of Public Affairs: kmsetera@fbi.gov; (857) 386-2905

Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division says, “Across the United States, businesses and individuals lost approximately $3.5 billion to cybercriminals last year while reporting more incidents of Internet crime to the FBI than any other year. Here in the Boston Division, victims suffered a total estimated loss of $50 million. Virtually every national security threat and crime problem we come across is cyber-based or digitally facilitated, and we’re very much aware of the urgent need to address it. Our partnership with Boston College is part of our ongoing effort to strengthen the relationships between law enforcement, private industry, and academia in order to better address the increasingly complex cyber threats we’re all facing.”

Kevin R. Powers, J.D., founder and director of BC’s Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Program and an assistant professor of the Practice at Boston College’s Law School and the Carroll School of Management’s Business Law and Society Program says, “We are honored to partner with the FBI to host the fifth annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security at BC. Although virtual this year, BCCS 2021 will continue to expand upon and strengthen the relationships between government, private industry, and academia to address the varying cyber threats, whether by nation states, cyber criminals, hacktivists, or terrorists. This is needed more than ever given COVID-19 and the move to the virtual workforce. Once again, BC is taking the lead in fulfilling its mission of developing and educating leaders to meet the world’s most pressing issues, and we’re doing so by partnering with the FBI to discuss ways to strengthen cyber and national security to not only protect government and industry networks and critical infrastructure, but also our private personal data.”

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FBI Offers a Reward for Identity of Two Armed Robbery Suspects

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

COLUMBUS, GA—The FBI and Columbus Police Department are asking the public for help identifying two dangerous suspects who robbed a Dollar General Store in Columbus at gunpoint. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment of the suspects.

On January 21, 2021, at around 7:00 p.m., two unidentified males walked into the Dollar General store located at 1620 13th Avenue, Columbus, Georgia 31901 and brandished firearms and robbed the store. Both suspects were wearing surgical masks.

The robbery turned violent when one of the suspects pistol-whipped an employee causing an injury to the employees face. The suspects took money from two different cash registers and then ran from the store on foot.

The FBI is releasing surveillance photos of the two suspects in hopes that someone from the public will recognize them. They should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact the FBI Atlanta/Columbus Resident Agency at 706-596-9603.