Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Lee of the FBI Richmond Division, announces the selection of HANOVER CARES as the Division’s 2017 Director’s Community Leadership Award recipient.

HANOVER CARES is a coalition that improves community awareness of substance abuse issues through the development of engagement opportunities for youth and parents. Through the creation of programs, sponsoring and attending events, posts on social media, and the establishment of youth advocacy groups, HANOVER CARES works to target and reduce substance abuse in the Hanover County and central Virginia area.

Several activities that HANOVER CARES support include:

• Hidden in Plain Sight – educates parents on possible signs of drug and alcohol use;
• Just Say Something, I’m Listening – provides parents with tools to make the conversation of drug and alcohol use a little easier;
• Sticker Shock – youth from the program place STOP or WAIT stickers on alcohol cases at grocery stores to remind buyers it’s illegal to purchase alcohol for anyone under the age of 21; and
• Compliance Checks – supports the compliance checks performed by the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office and the Town of Ashland Police Department to ensure local businesses are checking identifications and not selling to underage consumers.

HANOVER CARES also sponsors high school students attending a week-long Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project each summer, and partner with Mother’s Against Drunk Driving to have a Power of Parents program included in new driver’s licensing ceremony packets.

This organization has hosted several screenings of the FBI/DEA film “Chasing the Dragon” and numerous Drug Take Back Days. As recently as October 2017, HANOVER CARES partnered with Henrico and Chesterfield counties to host “Revive RVA: Regional Solutions to the Opioid Crisis” wherein the goal was to examine and identify solutions to the increasing issues of heroin and opioid abuse in central Virginia.

“From a law enforcement perspective in today’s society, where alcohol and drug abuse are so prevalent, it’s invaluable to have an organization such as HANOVER CARES available to educate and provide resources to parents and youth,” said SAC Lee. “The programs that HANOVER CARES initiated and the cooperation they have demonstrated with law enforcement and other prevention-minded organizations has made them as asset to the community and very deserving of the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award. Congratulations!”

If you would like additional information about HANOVER CARES or care to join in their endeavor please reach out to them directly.

KNOXVILLE, TN—Scam artists preying on lonely hearts are costly for Americans. The most recent statistics from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which provides the public with a means of reporting Internet-facilitated crimes, reveal losses of nearly $220 million nationwide in 2016. Tennessee residents reported more than $2.25 million for the same time period.

According to the FBI’s IC3, romance scams result in the highest amount of financial losses to victims when compared to other online crimes. In 2016, victims reported almost 15,000 complaints categorized as romance scams, nearly 2,500 more than the previous year. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Knoxville Field Office is working to raise awareness about these online romance scams, also known as “confidence fraud”. In this scheme, scammers take advantage of people looking for romantic partners on dating websites, apps, or social media by obtaining access to their financial or personal identifying information. “Romance scams are prevalent throughout the year, but seem to gain more notoriety in February and around Valentine’s Day”, said Renae McDermott, special agent in charge of the FBI in East Tennessee. “Unfortunately, once the money is gone, it usually winds its way overseas, out of our jurisdiction, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible to retrieve.” Scammers are astute and often spend hours researching your online footprint on other social media channels. Reviewing privacy settings and making the needed changes can help block some of their research. The following tips may be helpful to consider if you develop an online relationship:

• Research the person’s photo and profile using online search engines to see if the material has been used elsewhere.
• Take the new relationship slow and ask many questions.
• Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or social media site to go “offline.”
• Beware if the individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family or requests.
• Beware if the individual promises to meet in person, but then always comes up with an excuse why he or she can’t. If you haven’t met the person after a few months, for whatever reason, you have good reason to be suspicious.
• Never wire or send money to anyone you don’t know personally.

If you believe you are a victim of a romance scam, file a complaint online at ic3.gov. Click here: Tennessee Fraud Statistics to see all categories of reported fraud in Tennessee from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Story Elements:

ATLANTA—Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley, FBI Atlanta Field Office, in conjunction with Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, request the public’s assistance in locating Randall Bernard Hampton, 56, who is wanted for Murder.

According to a Fulton County arrest warrant, on November 4, 2017, Hampton chased Johnnie Wallace to 212 Joseph Lowery Boulevard, Atlanta, Georgia. Upon catching up to Wallace, Hampton stabbed Wallace multiple times with a large knife causing the death of Wallace.

Hampton is on the Atlanta Police Department’s Most Wanted list and should be considered armed and dangerous. He is believed to reside in vacant homes.

Anyone with information regarding Hampton’s location is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta at (404) 577-TIPS (8477).

JACKSONVILLE, FL—The FBI Jacksonville Division is warning residents to take caution when developing new relationships online, as they could be targets of the romance scam. According to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3), Florida is among the three states with the highest number of victims of confidence fraud.

The criminals who carry out romance scams target victims via social media with the intention of establishing a relationship as quickly as possible. Romance scammers spend hours honing their skills and sometimes keep journals on their victims to better understand how to manipulate and exploit them. As a way to avoid meeting in person, romance scammers often claim to work in the construction industry and engaged in projects outside the U.S. Eventually, when they feel they have gained the trust of their victim, these criminals will request money for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee.

In 2017, over 15,000 reports of confidence fraud were reported to IC3, with losses of approximately $210 million. Confidence fraud results in the highest amount of financial loss to victims when compared to other online crimes.

Be careful what you post online because scammers can use that information against you, and always assume that con artists are trolling even the most reputable dating and social media sites. If you develop a romantic relationship with someone you meet online, consider the following:

• Research the person’s photo and profile to see if the material has been used elsewhere.
• Go slow and ask questions.
• Beware if the individual seems too perfect, or quickly asks you to communicate “offline.”
• Beware if the individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family.
• Beware if the individual requests inappropriate photos or financial information that could later be used to extort you.
• Beware if the individual promises to meet in person, but then always comes up with an excuse.
• Never send money to anyone you don’t know personally.

If you suspect an online relationship is a scam, stop all contact immediately. And if you are the victim of a romance scam, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.