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FBI Boston warns of increase in ‘sextortion’ targeting young boys

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FBI Boston warns of increase in ‘sextortion’ targeting young boys


A troubling alert from the Boston workplace of the FBI. Brokers are warning mother and father and caregivers about a rise in incidents involving sextortion of younger youngsters.

The FBI says the sextortion begins when an grownup contacts a minor over any on-line platform, equivalent to a sport, app or social media account.

“In a scheme that has not too long ago turn out to be extra prevalent, the predator (posing as a younger lady) makes use of deception and manipulation to persuade a younger male, often 14 to 17 years previous, to interact in express exercise over video, which is then secretly recorded by the predator,” in keeping with the FBI assertion.

That predator then tells the sufferer they’ve made the recordings and tries to extort the sufferer for cash.

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“Predators who ask for sexually express pictures, movies, after which cash to terrorize younger victims with threats of posting their photographs on-line are extremely disturbing, and on our radar,” mentioned Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Particular Agent in Cost of the FBI Boston Division.

“As a way to spare youngsters of the disgrace, worry, and confusion they really feel when this occurs, we’re asking mother and father and caregivers to speak to their youngsters now about their on-line security, and the significance of talking as much as forestall additional victimization,” mentioned Bonavolonta.

The FBI offered the next recommendation:

  • Be selective about what you share on-line, particularly your private info and passwords. In case your social media accounts are open to everybody, a predator might be able to determine quite a lot of details about you or your youngsters.
  • Be cautious of anybody you encounter for the primary time on-line. Block or ignore messages from strangers.
  • Bear in mind that folks can faux to be something or anybody on-line. Movies and pictures usually are not proof that an individual is who they declare to be.
  • Be suspicious if you happen to meet somebody on a sport or app they usually ask you to start out speaking to them on a distinct platform.
  • Encourage your youngsters to report suspicious habits to a trusted grownup.

The FBI says individuals mustn’t delete something earlier than legislation enforcement is ready to assessment it.

Contact info for FBI discipline workplaces might be discovered at www.fbi.gov.

Obtain the FREE Boston 25 Information app for breaking information alerts.

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Boston, MA

‘Absolutely looked real’: Text scam about unpaid parking ticket saturates Boston area codes

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‘Absolutely looked real’: Text scam about unpaid parking ticket saturates Boston area codes


‘Absolutely looked real’: Text scam about unpaid parking ticket saturates Boston area codes

Boston Police are issuing an alert regarding a text message scam about an ‘unpaid parking invoice’ that’s been saturating Boston area codes since Saturday.

The fraudulent message from a Montreal area code, which uses the city’s logo, instructs people to pay $4.35 to avoid ‘late fees of 35$’.

It provides a link to a deceptive .com website that is not the boston.gov website.

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At-large City Councilor Erin Murphy is among the growing list of people targeted by the scam over the weekend.

“At first glance, absolutely looked real. Could easily scam people,” said Murphy. “Almost everyone I talked to, they got it or someone in their household got it.”

Murphy said she’s heard directly from people who were tricked by the message and compromised their banking information.

“It’s scary to know that someone was able to send that many text messages out, and they were targeting Boston phone numbers,” she said.

Boston police are still trying to figure out what phone database the scammers accessed and exactly how many people received the text message scam.

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“They definitely got a lot of people, and the amount, $4.35, a few people said that was the fee they paid at a parking meter,” said Murphy. “It directed them to a website that looked very similar to the city of Boston website.”

Boston 25 News spoke with a handful of people who received the fraudulent message.

Some said they too almost fell for it.

One person said they didn’t own a vehicle and knew it was a scam right away.

The message has some grammatical errors and uses a ‘$’ sign after the number 35.

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Boston 25 News called the phone number it came from, and it went directly to a voice message in French.

“Don’t feel embarrassed if you did pay it,” added Murphy. “Let us know so we can help track to make sure there’s no fraud going on or no money taken.”

While city officials recently announced a significant drop in violent crime and other serious crimes, one of the crimes that remain on the rise is financial fraud.

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Army Drops Second Conference Game in Hard-Fought Contest Against Boston

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Army Drops Second Conference Game in Hard-Fought Contest Against Boston


The Army Black Knights (6-8, 0-2 conference) went east to try and record their first conference win of the season when facing off against a perennial Patriot League powerhouse Boston University (7-8,1-1), but they dropped their second contest in as many games, losing 71-63.

It’s been an up-and-down campaign for Army.

They have dominated some of the lesser opponents on their schedule, while also getting blown out when stepping up in class, and losing some shootouts to teams who are roughly on the same level as them.

That brought Army into their first Patriot League matchup against Colgate (4-10, 1-0) with a 6-6 record, but after dropping that contest and now losing to Boston, they now sit two games under .500.

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The first half against the Terriers was a shootout.

Army got out to a hot start, taking an 8-2 lead just under three minutes after tip, but once Boston found their footing a bit, it started to turn into a back-and-forth affair.

The Black Knights were able to take control during the middle portion of the first half, getting out to a double-digit lead at the 9:37 mark. But a strong four-minute stretch to close things out saw the Terriers erase a six-point deficit and head into the locker room up, 40-35.

This was a lead Boston never relinquished.

Army tried to nudge back in front at multiple points during the second half, going on a 9-0 run to make it a three-point game with roughly 14 minutes left and fighting back to get within one point with 7:14 remaining.

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But, it wasn’t enough for them to win their first conference game of the year.

Senior guard Jalen Rucker led the way for Army in the scoring department, putting up 17 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field and 2-for-5 from deep. He was joined in double figures by fellow starters Ryan Curry and Josh Scovens, who both had 13.

Michael McNair led Boston with 17 points of his own. Miles Brewster was the only other starter for the Terriers to score double-digits, but Ben Roy and Ben Palacios added 12 and 10 off the bench respectively.

Army was dynamic from deep, shooting 42.3% (11-26), but they struggled from the floor overall in comparison by going 40.7% (24-59).

Boston was able to outlast the Black Knights by shotting 50.9% (27-53) from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range (9-23).

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Army will try to secure their first Patriot League win of the season when they welcome Loyola MD (6-7, 1-1) to Christl Arena on Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. EST with the game broadcasted on ESPN+.



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Death investigation in Charlestown after man found shot in 7-Eleven parking lot

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Death investigation in Charlestown after man found shot in 7-Eleven parking lot


A man was found dead in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood late Saturday night, according to police, who say he had been shot.

Boston police announced Sunday that there is a death investigation underway at 140 Main Street after officers responded around 10:33 p.m. the night before to a report of a pedestrian struck there and found an adult male lying on the ground in the convenience store’s parking lot.

Further investigation revealed the victim had been shot, police said, and he was pronounced dead on scene by Boston EMS. His name has not been released.

Police haven’t shared more information about the incident at this time.

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The Boston Police Department’s homicide unit is actively investigating what happened, and anyone with information is strongly urged to contact detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can also be called into the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or texted to CRIME (27463) with the word “TIP.”



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