Scams and data breaches hitting NJ hard

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Thursday:

⬛ NJ has $6.3 billion in unclaimed funds — check if some is yours

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If you've checked this site before, do it again.

Every day, new records are added to New Jersey's unclaimed property database.

As of today, the Garden State is safeguarding about $6.3 billion in unclaimed money and property — and officials want the rightful owners to come forward.

⬛ NJ utility company warns customers about an uptick in scams

Shawn Michaels

Atlantic City Electric said there was an uptick in fraud attempts targeting customers since October 2023, and is urging customers to be on the lookout for imposters using energy-related scams to steal money, especially over the phone.

The utility, along with its sister utilities Delmarva Power and Pepco announced there were 2,200 reports of scam attempts in 2023, with an 11 percent success rate, up from 10 percent a year ago.

⬛ Cops: Man with one leg attacked over a shopping cart in Bayonne

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BAYONNE — A Middlesex County man has been arrested and charged after allegedly assaulting a 64-year-old man with one leg outside a supermarket in early January.

Oswaldo Gonzalez-Varon, 54, of North Brunswick, has been charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses, according to Bayonne police.

⬛ Worker dies at Lakewood, NJ recycling facility

Response to a fatal incident at the Ocean County Northern Recycling Center in Lakewood 1/31/24 (The Lakewood Scoop)

LAKEWOOD — One person died following an incident at the Ocean County Northern Recycling Center Wednesday morning.

Lakewood police Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said officers responded around 10:15 a.m. to the facility on Towbin Avenue in Lakewood to a report that an employee died while working around a large dumpster. The identity of the worker was not disclosed.

⬛ FBI's Most Wanted in New Jersey: Armed and Dangerous

FBI

The Newark office of the FBI currently lists more than two-dozen fugitives with ties to New Jersey on their ‘most wanted list.’

Their crimes range from kidnapping, cyber-crime, espionage and terrorism.

These are the six most wanted violent fugitives.

NJ arrests, sentences linked to Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot

More than three years later, roughly 40 people from New Jersey or with NJ ties have been charged with involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt/Dan Alexander