ALERT: New Credit Card Scam to Contend With in Connecticut!

If you're not alert 100% of the time, you are at risk of losing your hard-earned dollars. It's sad but true, Americans are having to contend with more scams everyday and Connecticut has a special target on it's back.

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Another classic scam has resurfaced in the Nutmeg State and it has residents on high-alert. Credit card skimmers have recently been spotted by local law enforcement. On Tuesdsay May 7, 2024 the Berlin, Connecticut Police Department issued the following statement to the public:

"Skimmer alert! If you visited the Dollar General on Farmington Avenue recently and paid by card, please monitor your accounts and let us know if you notice any suspicious activity. A card skimmer was discovered today on one of the checkout terminals and it’s unknown how long it was present for."

Berlin PD

This is not a Berlin-only problem, if we've learned anything about these thieves, we know they keep moving from one community to the next to avoid being caught. Authorities have also recently reported that the criminal underworld is working in an organized manner with theft sprees being coordinated.

How to Spot a Credit Card Skimmer

Time says:

Credit card skimmers are physical—often bulky—apparatuses that you should be able to spot. Some skimmers appear uncannily official, whether they’re a simple extension inserted into the credit card reader or an intricate shell that covers the entire terminal. The easiest way to detect a credit card skimmer is to yank, pull, and tug. Before you put your card into a point-of-sale terminal, wiggle a few parts of the machine to see if anything is loose.

The Berlin Police Department adds:

Check for alignment issues between the card reader and the panel underneath it
Skimmers are often placed on top of the actual card reader making it stick out at an odd angle or cover arrows in a panel

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Are There Are Alternatives to Launching a Full-Scale Investigation Into Every Device I Interact With?

Secret Service agents and FICO reps told Cleveland.com say

The safest payment method is using a tap-to-pay feature, whether it built into the credit card or on your phone. FICO says tap-to-pay hides card details from the ATM or PIN pad, and replaces them with a token that is “nearly impossible to decrypt.

What happened to an honest-days living? This is an extremely upsetting time to be alive. There is real honor in being a working person and I don't see how there are people who don't get that.

19 of Connecticut's Most Wanted Fugitives

First, you should know that not every fugitive is some sort of serial killer or bank robber; some are just people who have been charged with crimes and are actively evading law enforcement.

These are 19 of Connecticut's Wanted Fugitives according to BailCo Bail Bonds, who state the following on their website:

"The persons listed on this page are currently wanted by BailCo Bail Bonds Manchester LLC and the State of Connecticut for failing to appear at a scheduled court date. We would be grateful to receive any information you may have about their status or whereabouts, but please first consider the following:No one listed on this page is necessarily guilty of a crime."

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

7 Worst Prisons in the State of Connecticut

If I was going to prison, I'd be worrying about everything. I'd want to know what I was in for and there are not a ton of resources available, I certainly would not have anyone I could ask for their experience. You need to know what danger level you're facing, what your day-to-day will consist of and what conditions are like. Most of all, you want to know if the place you're going to has a bad reputation.

My recent TV binge of 60 Days In made me want to seek answers to these questions, I needed to know. I was able to find some helpful information from The Connecticut Bail Bonds Group.

Here are the 7 Worst Prisons in Connecticut

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

15 of Connecticut's Most Wanted Bank Robbery Suspects of the 2020's

Imagine if you will, being passed a note that says "give me all the money." It sounds like a cheesy line from a low-budget Hollywood stinker but for some CT bank tellers it was a terrifying, real-life scenario. These are 15 of Connecticut's Most Wanted Bank Robbery Suspects of the 2020's.

NOTE: These are photos of suspects and all parties are innocent until proven guilty.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

In 1970, Two Men Robbed a Danbury Bank + Blew Up the Police Station

The story of the Pardue brothers, their connection to Danbury and what happened in the Hat City in February of 1970 came to us from Mike Allen. Every Tuesday Mike joins the Ethan and Lou Show on I-95 for a feature called "The Place You Live" and this week it was a local story unlike any I'd ever heard.

John Pardue was a 27-year-old man in 1970 who lived in Danbury, his brother James was 23, and living in Lusby, MD. Before the story finds its way to the Hat City, and the brothers rob the Union Savings Bank on Main Street, they had already racked up quite the list of astonishing crimes.

Prior to Danbury, they robbed banks in Lewisboro, NY, Georgetown, CT and Union, MO. They also killed their father, their grandmother, two other men who helped them pull off the robbery in Georgetown, CT and had, at minimum, a role in the death of an innocent Bridgeport man that they stole a car from. John and James Pardue were hardened criminals before their Danbury bank robbery.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

The Sinful 6: Connecticut's Most Dangerous Gangs

Your exposure to gangs and gang violence is probably a lot like mine. You see gang stories told on fictional TV shows like "Sons of Anarchy" or in the movies and think, eh not my problem. Not so fast Nutmegger! According to the CT Justice Department gangs are a real problem in the State of Connecticut.

Here are the 6 Most Dangerous Gangs in the Nutmeg State

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

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