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Md. man didn't know car he rented was reported stolen, until police held him at gunpoint 03/06/2025 09:28pm • A Maryland man says his vacation to Arizona, where he was visiting family for a baby shower earlier this winter, turned into the worst experience of his life — one that could have left him dead. A month later, he's still demanding answers from an online rental car company that put him behin Maryland scammer sentenced for attempting to steal over $200K in gold bars 12/12/2024 05:18pm • A Rockville, Maryland, man was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to swindle an elderly Silver Spring resident out of nearly a quarter-million dollars in gold in an identity theft scam. Ravinklejeet Mathon, 26, took part in a scheme to steal three 1-kilogram gold bars, totaling $229 New rule could stop sale of your personal information 12/03/2024 11:30am • It’s not just hackers that can get your data for scams and other nefarious purposes. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is aiming to regulate data brokers that are allowed to sell that personal information. “Data brokers — the outfits that collect and sell — are making this data ava 'Tis the season to be on high alert for 'smishing' scams 12/02/2024 04:50pm • With the holidays here, shipping companies are seeing a rise in deliveries, and that is something that scammers are aware of, too. That means people can expect more fake text messages that claim to be from shippers, but are actually from crooks trying to get personal information, money or both. T Fairfax Co. to use AI for screening nonemergency 911 calls 10/07/2024 04:40pm • Fairfax County is turning to artificial intelligence to help prevent long wait times for nonemergency calls. At a recent county safety and security meeting, Scott Brillman, director for the county's department of public safety communications, detailed plans for the AI system. It will help the dep 'We've got screenshots:' Scam surging in Fairfax Co. threatens release of online activity 09/30/2024 03:10pm • "We've seen what you do, we've got screenshots." That's the message that comes followed by a demand for payment in a scam that authorities say is surging in Virginia's most populated county. If payment is not sent in Bitcoin, then the scammers say the most private contents of the victim's phone o Is that really a census taker knocking on your door? 09/25/2024 04:08am • It is 8 p.m. and you get a knock at the door. It’s someone claiming to be a U.S. Census worker, looking to gather personal information about you. Is it safe to open the door? That was the question WTOP's Anne Kramer had when she received a similar visit to her home. “I thought to myself, ' Watch your money! Don't fall for phony donation campaigns 09/02/2024 01:38pm • With all the attention and fundraising surrounding the upcoming presidential and congressional races, scammers are looking to take money from unsuspecting people willing to open their wallets to support a candidate or cause. Tech reporter Kim Komando offered guidance on what to watch for in her b FBI wants you to 'Take A Beat' as cases of fraud and scams grow 08/20/2024 04:03am • Responding to a sharp rise in financial fraud and scams, the FBI has launched a nationwide campaign urging the public to resist the pressure and act with caution when it comes to potentially fraudulent offers. The "Take A Beat" campaign encourages the public to stop and think things over when con VDOT warns of text message scams involving bogus toll charges 08/14/2024 01:40pm • The Virginia Department of Transportation is warning drivers of scam text messages involving bogus E-ZPass toll charges. In a message posted on Facebook, VDOT said the scam messages send people requests for payment for toll charges along with a link to a fake website. VDOT does communicate 'Organized crime at the highest level': At least 5 people in gold bar scam, Montgomery Co. officials say 08/13/2024 05:50am • Montgomery County, Maryland, law enforcement officials are urging the public to be vigilant about an ongoing scam in which a growing number of seniors have already lost millions of dollars. So far at least five people have been arrested and charged in these schemes, Montgomery County State’s At Fairfax students' award-winning scam detection site uses AI to tell you what's 'too good to be true' 07/31/2024 04:37pm • Advik Atyam never expected to be scammed, but he too became a victim while reselling computer parts during the pandemic. He was in eighth grade at the time, and was talking to someone who wanted to buy his keyboard. Atyam named his price and they agreed to make the deal over PayPal. While the Do you recognize that phone number? Prince George's Co. police have tips on how to avoid over-the-phone scammers 07/30/2024 05:30pm • Scam artists keep getting more sophisticated, and the sheer number of them and the amount of money they've taken continues to spike compared to a year ago. That has Prince George’s County police reminding people about what to watch for, while revealing more about how scammers target victims. In Montgomery Co. senior scammed out of $900K in gold bar 'big-money scheme' 07/16/2024 09:45pm • Scammers persuaded an 82-year-old Montgomery County, Maryland, woman to buy a fortune's worth of gold bars and then hand them over earlier this year, according to prosecutors, who said the scammers posed as federal agents working to protect her savings. Zhenyong Weng, 19, of New York City, has be As a new scam targets owners of lost pets, a local shelter offers a heads up 07/12/2024 08:05pm • The Fairfax County Animal Shelter wants pet owners to know that someone is posing as shelter staff in an attempt to get money from owners of lost pets. Reasa Currier, director of Fairfax County's Department of Animal Sheltering, told WTOP how the scam works. When a pet owner posts about their