Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, in collaboration with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, has announced the successful shutdown of 11 internet domains linked to a smishing scam. This scam targeted individuals via text messages claiming unpaid parking or toll balances, directing them to an official-looking website to harvest personal and financial information.

The Virtual Currency Unit of the Brooklyn DA’s Office identified and dismantled the fraudulent domains after receiving complaints about text messages asking for a nominal fee to settle supposed outstanding balances. These texts contained links to realistic-looking websites where victims were prompted to enter sensitive information such as their name, date of birth, driver’s license number, and credit or debit card number. This information was then used for identity theft or sold on the Dark Web.

District Attorney Gonzalez emphasized the importance of being wary of unsolicited messages requesting money or personal details. “People should be very suspicious of any unsolicited text message or email requesting money or personal information, and never click on links without knowing the sender,” he said. He commended the swift action of the Virtual Currency Unit in dismantling the fraudulent domains.

Mayor Adams reiterated the administration’s commitment to protecting New Yorkers from such scams. “This administration will not sit idly by while bad actors attempt to take advantage of unsuspecting New Yorkers,” he said. He reminded the public that official entities like the Department of Finance and NYC City Pay will never request payments via text message.

The investigation began when a detective received a suspicious text message requesting a small fee to settle a balance. Subsequent complaints revealed the operation as a smishing scam, a form of phishing that uses text messages to solicit personal information. Within 24 hours, the DA’s Office identified and took down 11 related domains through a court order.

The dismantled domains include:

• nycitypay.com
• newyorktollbymail.com
• tollsnewyorkbymail.com
• tollwebmail518ny.com
• nytoll585.com
• nyaccounttoll.com
• mailny8291.com
• nytollbymail.com
• nytolls2229.com
• nybymail.com
• ny1ezpassexpress.com

Individuals who responded to the scam are advised to freeze their accounts, activate a credit card freeze, notify their bank and credit card provider, and monitor their finances closely for unusual activity.

NYC Cyber Command will continue to partner with the DA’s Office to keep New Yorkers informed about similar scams and provide necessary information to protect against identity theft.

CLEVELAND, OH – A Cleveland local has won a substantial $160,000 from the Rolling Cash 5 lottery draw held on June 15, 2024. After deductions for state and federal taxes, which total 28 percent, the winner will receive $115,200.

The winning ticket was purchased at Superior Food Mart, located at 12333 Superior Ave. The winning numbers for this draw were 3, 5, 6, 8, and 25. Rolling Cash 5, a popular daily draw game, conducts its drawings at 7:05 pm every day of the week.

CLEVELAND — The City of Cleveland announced this week it’s looking to redevelop the Thomas F. McCafferty Health Center site in order to better address the needs of the Ohio City neighborhood. 

The health center, which is a 19,000-square-foot clinic and was constructed in 1971, has only about 25% of its space occupied by the Cleveland Department of Public Health. The city said the space is underutilized, and it’s seeking proposals to redevelop the property. 

The city said the goal is to address affordable housing needs and said a Request for Qualifications will be issued to help identify professional real estate development project teams to work on the site. 

While housing is the main goal, the city said the ground floor of the building will likely be used for nonprofit or social services to help neighborhood residents. 

Additionally, the Department of Public Health is seeking a new home on the west side with the hopes of being co-located with other social services. The city said the search for the public health department’s new site offers up opportunities for the future of the Thomas F. McCafferty Health Center.  

“The Department of Public Health is currently searching for a site to continue offering low-cost reproductive health services and vaccines,” said Cleveland’s Director of Public Health David Margolius in a release. “We also recognize that housing has a tremendous impact on health and are pleased to be part of a process to create more opportunities for affordable housing in a neighborhood that needs it.”

The initiative to transform the site in a way to address affordable housing needs has been put forth by the vision of Councilman Kerry McCormack, as well as has been outlined in Ohio City’s Strategic Plan. The initiative is also supported by the Cleveland 2030 Housing Equity Plan.

“I want to thank all of the public health professionals who have served the Cleveland community from the McCafferty Health Center for decades,” said McCormack in a release. “Their work has touched the lives of many people in need of medical services in our neighborhoods. As we move forward, I am excited about the future of this site continuing to serve a public purpose by providing affordable housing and social services to the neighborhood. I appreciate the hard work of city staff and look forward to future community engagement to ensure this is the best project possible.”  

To ensure the future development of the site “takes a placed-based approached” to addressing affordable housing needs, the Department of Community Development and Ohio City Inc. have created a community survey seeking input. 

The input received from the survey will be shared with potential development teams working through the project. The city said once a project team is selected, they will continue to engage with the community throughout the process. 

The survey can be found here.