WCDO Radio News

US Senator Chuck Schumer introduced the "Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act” at Brooks Barbecue in Oneonta Monday. Schumer said that 4 companies own 67% of the pork, 60% of the chicken, and 85% of the beef,” leading no competition in the food industry, and higher costs for everyone. If passed through Congress and signed by the president, meatpacking conglomerates could control only one type of meat and the Federal Trade Commission would enforce the legislation. Schumer said the bill could brought to the floor for a vote soon.

The State’s Division of Consumer Protection is providing consumers with tips to protect their money and financial information while using payment apps, after it was reported that last year, consumers nationwide reported over $390 million in losses to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission from App scams, which was about $100 million dollars more than the previous year. If you believe you made a payment to a scammer or find unauthorized payments on your account, report it to the mobile payment app and any bank involved, you can also report fraud to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

20 Attorney's General including New York State, are suing the Trump Administration over its efforts to obtain data from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. According to the lawsuit, the Department of Agriculture is improperly attempting to gather sensitive personal information from low-income families who use the program, including social security numbers and home addresses. New York Attorney General Letitia James reported that it was not the 1st time this administration has tried to use federal agencies to access Americans’ personal data, recently a federal judge declined to stop the IRS from sharing sensitive taxpayer information with federal immigration authorities.

the State Division of Consumer Protection is warning consumers to be cautious of charity scams. fraudsters pretend to be affiliated with well-known organizations or even the government to scam people out of their hard-earned money. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there were 9,809 reports of charitable solicitation fraud nationwide in 2023, but many of these scams go unreported because individuals may not know where their donations are going or that they are being scammed. The Consumer Assistance Helpline 1-800-697-1220, consumer complaints can be filed at dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection.

The State Division of Consumer Protection is providing tips to help older adults avoid financial scams and exploitation on National Senior Citizens Day, which happens to be today. The FBI’s Internet Crime Report estimates that the annual loss to victims aged 60 years and older in the United States is $3.4 billion dollars, the highest of any age group. For more information, go to dos.ny.gov, or visit the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website at consumerfinance.gov, or the Federal Trade Commission website at consumer.ftc.gov/scams.

The Broome County District Attorney's Office reported that over the last several weeks residents have been targeted by individuals posing as representatives from Publisher Clearing House, informing victims that they have won a substantial prize, the scammers then request payment of various fees and taxes to claim the prize, ultimately defrauding people of their savings. Legitimate sweepstakes organizations do not require winners to pay fees upfront to receive their prizes, also, individuals should never provide personal or financial information over the phone or online unless they are certain of the recipient's identity. To report a scam contact the New York State Attorney General, Consumer Frauds Bureau at 1-800-771-7755, or the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov or call 1-877- 382-4357

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced her push to provide a boost in federal funding for the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program in the Federal 2025

appropriations bill, follow recent cuts to the program:

(Gillibrand 5-15-24)

Senator Gillibrand said that the Grant provides funding for local fire departments to purchase equipment and emergency vehicles and to address staffing shortages.

A.M. NEWS Wednesday 5-15-24

The 214th New York State Police Academy Graduation, was held today this morning at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. 228 new Troopers completed the Basic School of the New York State Police Academy, 26 of the new Troopers are being assigned to Troop C in Sidney.

Attorney General Letitia James announced today that a federal appeals court has upheld a court order that New York, the Federal Trade Commission and 6 other states won against convicted criminal Martin Shkreli for engaging in illegal and monopolistic behavior as the CEO of Vyera Pharmaceuticals. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the January 2022 decision of the District Court for the Southern District of New York, which found that Shkreli violated both federal and state laws by engaging in an illegal scheme to maintain a monopoly over a lifesaving drug, Daraprim, after increasing its price by over 4,000%, Shkreli is banned for life from the pharmaceutical industry and ordered to pay $64.6 million.

State Attorney General Letitia James & 17 other state's attorneys general, joined the Federal Trade Commission in suing Amazon, alleging that the online retail and technology company is a monopolist that uses a set of interlocking anti-competitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon's actions allow it to stop rivals and sellers from lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, stifle innovation, and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon.

A.M. NEWS TUESDAY 9-26-23

State Police announced that applications to take the New York State Trooper Entrance Exam have reached 10,000. The age to become a State trooper has been changed from 29 to 34. New York State will be offering the Trooper Entrance Exam at 59 testing centers across the state, as well as over 250 locations across the United States and 112 military locations around the world. Individuals wishing to take the Trooper Entrance Exam may sign up on the website at JoinStatePolice.ny.gov. The last day to submit an application is Sunday, October 1. The last day to submit your entrance exam, whether online or in person, is Sunday, October 15.

The Department of State reminds businesses of a new law to protect consumers from potential Gift Card Scams. Effective June 20th, all businesses selling gift cards must display a notice at or near where any gift card or gift certificate is displayed or sold to caution consumers about gift card fraud. Requesting gift cards as payment has become increasingly popular with scammers as funds are nearly impossible to trace. According to the Federal Trade Commission in 2022, nearly 65,000 consumers filed a complaint related to gift card scams, equating to a total loss of $228.3 million.

A.M. NEWS THURSDAY 5-25-23

The Otsego County Sheriff’s Office arrested 33 year old Caitlyn Berkeley of Norwich following a traffic stop in the Town of Burlington. Berkely was found to be operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, she failed to comply with officers and physically resisted arrest, with 1 officer being injured who was later treated at the hospital and released. Berkeley was arraigned & was released on her own recognizance & will appear in Town of Burlington Court at a later date.

State Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office, along with a coalition of 5 other states and the Federal Trade Commission, secured $9.4 million from Google and iHeartMedia for airing misleading ads about a Google device. Google paid Corporate radio personalities to record endorsement ads describing their positive experience using the Google Pixel 4 phone, without ever using them, the misleading ads ran in English and Spanish more than 23,000 times in 10 different markets, in violation of New York's consumer protection laws. Google and iHeartMedia will pay New York $1.58 million.

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement with the Price Chopper & Tops Friendly Market supermarket chains, where they will divest themselves of 12 stores located around the state, in connection with the companies' proposed merger, in order to promote competition & keep groceries prices from going up even more than they have been. The agreement resolves an 8-month investigation that the Office of the Attorney General conducted with the Federal Trade Commission, it will continue to keep union jobs in the stores. Price Chopper and Tops have closed on the merger the 2 companies today, The stores will keep their names and management but will be owned by a new parent company called Northeast Grocery. C&S Wholesale Grocers agreed to purchase the divested stores, including the Tops location in Cooperstown.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce announced the launch of the Great Western Catskills Film Commission. The commission will use of occupancy tax revenue, The Commission was created to develop the motion picture, television, advertising, and entertainment media industry in Delaware County. The primary focus of the commission is to increase local employment opportunities and increase revenue for Delaware County businesses. The project is spearheaded by Delhi resident Lisa Wisely, the website is GreatWesternCatskillsFilmCommission.com, anyone with a potential filming location is encouraged to submit information on the website.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker has tendered his resignation to Governor Kathy Hochul today, and she has accepted the resignation.  Dr. Zucker has presided over the State Department of Health for almost 7 1/2 years; a search for his successor will begin shortly.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, announced support of the bipartisan Senior Financial Empowerment Act, to protect seniors from fraud and targeted financial scams, and is urging the Federal Trade Commission to strengthen protections for seniors:

(Gillibrand 9-23-21)

Gillibrand said that Millions of seniors have been victims of financial scams and abuse every year, with a noticeable increase in those scams throughout the pandemic, in New York State alone, seniors are estimated to lose as much as $1.5 billion per year to financial fraud and abuse.

A.M. NEWS THURSDAY 9-23-21

Governor Kathy Hochul announced Ubiquity Solar will establish its U.S. solar photovoltaic manufacturing operations at the former IBM site in Endicott.  The company expects to repurpose 800,000 square-feet of space at the former campus, representing an approximately $61 million investment, Ubiquity Solar expects to create up to 150 highly skilled jobs, they expect to be fully operational at the Endicott campus by the end of 2022.

Commerce Chenango announced they will host a Virtual State Budget presentation with State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball Friday at 12:00 Noon.  Commerce Chenango President & CEO Kerri Green comments:

(Kerri Green 2-11-21)

Members can register by email:  register@chenangony.org, more information is available at 334-1402.

State Police are reminding the public that if someone calls, texts, emails or messages you on social media and asks you to send money in the form of a gift card, it’s probably a scam.  State Police continue to receive complaints of different scams involving gift cards, some of the scammers claim to be asking to help local small business, a religious organization, or they claim to be from the IRS.  The Federal Trade Commission does collect information about scams at ftc.gov/complaint; if you have lost money, contact local law enforcement.

A.M. NEWS THURSDAY 2-11-21

State Police and the State Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit responded to a report of a dump truck into a residence Wednesday morning at about 8:30 AM.  The dump truck struck a trailer on Caldwell Hill Road near State Route 79 in the town of Lisle.  The accident is still under investigation.  The driver of the dump truck reported arm and neck pain.

State Police have received multiple calls from people scammed out of hundreds of dollars after answering classified ads for purebred puppies for sale. Victims report after answering the ad, the suspects provide a photo of the breed they are looking for and arrange a deposit to be paid. Once the deposit is cleared, the victim is provided an address, which does not exist, to pick up their puppy. State Police said that the scammers request payments through various payments Apps like CashApp, All communication with the “breeder” takes place by text. State Police said that those who are scammed may go to the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org or to the Federal Trade Commission online at reportfraud.ftc.gov or call 877-FTC-Help.

Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond said that he continues to receive phone calls regarding a grandparent scam, where someone calls an unsuspecting grandparent pretending to be a grandchild in trouble, or a law enforcement official who has arrested a grandchild.  Sheriff DuMond told WCDO News that unfortunately, the caller sounds realistic:

(DuMond 12-8-20)

Sheriff DuMond said that people can report any fraud targeting older people to the Federal Trade Commission online or at 877-382-4357.

The State Division of Consumer Protection is alerting consumers to a rise in online shopping complaints as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.  The Federal Trade Commission reports that during April and May, more people reported issues with online shopping than any other months on record, with more than half never receiving the products they ordered.  New Yorkers reported over 4,400 complaints and 75% resulted in monetary loss, more information is available at 800-697-1220, Consumer complaints can be filed anytime online at the Division website, www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection.

Delaware
County Sheriff's Office is investigating an on-line computer repair scam that
led to significant financial loss to an elderly local resident.  Investigators were contacted by The Delaware
National Bank of Delhi, the customer had fallen victim twice to an on-line
Pop-Up scam and lost thousands of dollars, the victim was stopped from further
issues by an alert UPS employee. The investigation is on-going by Delaware
County Sheriff's Investigators and San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.  Sheriff DuMond reminds the public that they
should contact the Sheriff's Office or local law enforcement if they may be the
target of a scam or identity theft.  On-line
complaint forms are available through the State Attorney General, ag.ny.gov;
the Federal Trade Commission, consumer.ftc.gov; and the FBI at ic3.gov.

The State Division of Consumer Protection is alerting New
Yorkers affected by the Equifax data breach that deadlines are fast approaching
related to the recent settlement.  In
2017 Equifax had succumbed to the largest breach in history, exposing the
records of over 8.4 million New Yorkers, a settlement was announced by the
Federal Trade Commission to settle all consumer claims related to the security
breach.  More information is available at
eligibility.equifaxbreachsettlement.com.

Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum cable, was ordered by New York regulators Thursday to pay a $2 million fine for not building out its cable network and expanding high-speed internet service as they promised at the time of their Time Warner cable takeover in 2016. The Public Service Commission also threatened to revoke its approval of the merger if Charter doesn't agree to the penalty.

State lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill to toughen New York’s child sex trafficking laws. The new law would punish anyone over the age of 21 who intentionally promotes or profits from the prostitution of minors with a felony sex trafficking charge, facing up to 25 years behind bars. Currently, prosecutors have to prove minors were forced or coerced into the sex trade to secure a trafficking conviction.

There will be a Federal Primary Election on Tuesday, June 26th; Polls will be open from 12:00 Noon to 9:00 PM. Those registered in the Democratic Party will chose a candidate for the 19th congressional district race, as will the Women’s Equality Party. June 19th is the last day an absentee ballot application may be mailed to the Board of Elections. June 25th is the last day to apply in person for an absentee ballot and the last day to mail a completed ballot to the Board of Elections. June 26th is the last day for a ballot to be delivered by agent to the Board of Elections. More information is available at 832-5321 Voters can view sample ballots at the Board of Elections website: co.delaware.ny.us.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today a report today regarding Data Breaches in New York State in 2017. Companies reported 1,583 data breaches to Attorney General’s office, exposing the personal records of 9.2 million New Yorkers; quadruple the number of New Yorkers impacted in 2016. The Attorney General's Office suggests that consumers create Strong Passwords for Online Accounts and Update them frequently & to Change user names and passwords immediately on affected accounts. For breaches involving credit card numbers, social security numbers, Identity Theft Reports can be filed by calling the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-438-4338

The federal government has designated 24 New York counties as natural disaster areas following a severe summer drought that has adversely impacted some water supplies and farms. Farmers in the affected areas may be eligible for assistance, including emergency loans, from the federal government. The state will conduct on-site assessments of farms affected by the drought as well, Cuomo’s office said. 15 counties declared as the primary natural disaster areas cover, 1 of the contiguous counties named in the declaration is Broome County. Many other counties locally & into the North Country are requesting primary disaster declarations.

The New York State Gaming Commission granted Tioga Downs a Class III commercial gaming license on Tuesday. The license will allow Tioga Downs to complete its transformation into a full-scale casino, replacing the current Video Lottery Terminals with slot machines and allowing the facility to add Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, a Poker Room and other casino card games that would be permitted by the gaming commission. A multi-million dollar expansion is underway; Tioga Downs received the state's final license, with Tuesday's full commission endorsement.

The White House Rural Council and the Postal Service are hosting 60 workshops in 24 states over the next few months for rural businesses to learn how to access new customers abroad and take advantage of international trade assistance. Local entrepreneurs can take advantage by attending a workshop today at the Binghamton Post Office at 115 Henry Street from 11:00 - 1:00.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate "spying billboards". Schumer’s office reports that the billboards are being used to collect data from any mobile device that passes by them. Schumer said that companies want to use this technology to track peoples travel patterns and behaviors through location services on their cell phones, Schumer is pushing to allow consumers to be able to opt-out of the tracking program and to be notified if this new technology is tracking them.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman joined the Federal Trade Commission, the other 49 states, and the District of Columbia in announcing the successful conclusion of the largest multistate charity fraud action to date. 2 nationwide sham cancer charities are being dissolved and their president is banned from profiting from any charity fundraising in the future. Cancer Fund of America and Cancer Support Services and their leader, James Reynolds, claimed to help cancer patients, but instead, the majority of donations benefited the operators, their families and friends, and employee fundraisers. The complaint was filed in May 2015, targeting 4 sham charities run by Reynolds, which bilked more than $187 million from donors, including nearly $3 million in New York State.

A federal jury on Tuesday convicted 25-year-old Antonio Ballard of Binghamton, for engaging in a sex trafficking and prostitution business involving minors. Ballard faces sentencing on July 27th.

Delaware County Sheriff Tom Mills reminds residents to be aware of a number of IRS scams that have been reported recently. The scams try to trick taxpayers into providing personal and financial information & may involve intimidation tactics to coerce victims into making false tax payments that are collected by the scammer. Sheriff Mills said that you should not share any personal or financial information with these callers, & that the IRS will never make such calls to private citizens. Those with questions can contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040, you can report scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484, or the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov.

Governor Cuomo issued a warning to college students returning for the fall semester that purchasing fake IDs is not only illegal, but also increases the chances of becoming a victim of identify fraud. Investigators from the State DMV have found dozens of examples of underage license holders becoming victims of identity theft after purchasing fraudulent identification online from overseas companies. According to the Federal Trade Commission, 18% of identity theft victims were ages 20 to 29; about 6% were 19 years old or younger, these age groups are less likely to regularly track bank account and credit card activity, pay for identity theft monitoring services, and use discretion when sharing information on social media. Nearly 16,000 identity theft complaints were logged last year in New York State.

The Attorney General offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, have filed a lawsuit against 4 phony cancer charities. The lawsuit alleges that the Cancer Fund of America, Children’s Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services, and The Breast Cancer Society scammed more than $187 million from unsuspecting donors, including $3 million from New Yorkers since 2008. The Children’s Cancer Fund of America and The Breast Cancer Society have entered into settlements, Litigation is proceeding against the remaining defendants. The proposed settlement include judgments of $137 million and require that 2 of the charities be prohibited from working as not-for-profits.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that his office has been alerted to a scam involving an individual posing as Sam Wilson from the Attorney General’s Office. Consumers should not return this call to the number provided and should be aware that the Attorney General’s Office would never notify any individual or business about pending litigation in a telephone call. Individuals should contact the Federal Trade Commission at (877) FTC-HELP or ftc.gov, or contact the Attorney General’s Office at (800) 771-7755 or ag.ny.gov.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer wants the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether utilities or power producers artificially inflated upstate New York electric rates in recent months.   Rates spiked the most this winter for National Grid customers by an average of 60 to 75%, and average rates rose10 to 15% for NYSEG.  Utilities blamed raises in the wholesale cost of electricity and said they have no control over those prices.  NYSEG suggested customers struggling with rising rates sign up for their budget-billing plan.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is holding public meetings this week, to gather feedback on the draft Environmental Impact Statement, for the proposed Constitution Pipeline. The pipeline would carry natural gas, from northern Pennsylvania across New York’s Southern Tier, to connect with other pipelines in Schoharie County serving Northeast markets. Meetings are scheduled tonight at 7:00 at the Oneonta High School, tomorrow night at 7:00 PM at the Afton High School, and Thursday evening at Blue Ridge High School in New Milford, Pennsylvania. If approved, pipeline construction could start in January.

Governor Cuomo announced a new multi-agency Cigarette Strike Force to help crack down on counterfeit and untaxed tobacco trade and sales. The state Tax Department is partnering with 12 state, local and federal agencies to expand and share their database of crime-related information to end illegal cigarette trafficking organizations. A pack of cigarettes in the state is taxed $4.35 and in New York City there is a $5.85 tax—both the highest in the country. The penalty for possession of illegal cigarettes is a $600 fine per carton. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office filed a $70 million lawsuit against Federal Express for unlawfully shipping nearly 80 million illegal cigarettes to consumers in New York. The lawsuit joins and expands upon a complaint filed in December by New York City.

The new 5-year federal farm bill has provisions to tackle Lyme Disease, with important research already being accomplished in New York.  Congressman Chris Gibson explains:

(Gibson 3-3-14)

Farmers who need assistance with learning all of the changes in the new farm bill can contact Cornell Cooperative Extension.

US Senator Charles Schumer is calling on federal regulators to set guidelines to protect consumers as car companies collect personal information through "smart car" technology and sell it to third parties.  Schumer announced Sunday that he's asking the Federal Trade Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish guidelines requiring carmakers to notify drivers when they are being tracked and allow drivers to opt out completely from sharing information.

Public meetings begin this week on proposals for high-speed passenger rail service in New York. The 1st of 6 hearings is tomorrow in Albany. Meetings are also planned in Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, Utica and Poughkeepsie. The state Department of Transportation said 5 options are proposed in an environmental review required for federal funding. Under the options, trains would have top operating speeds of 79, 90, 110 and 125 mph. The costs of the plans range from $1.7 billion to $6.2 billion.

State Budget hearings are being conducted in Albany currently, this week; area Assemblyman Cliff Crouch questioned Department of Health Commissioner Nirav Shah on the staffing shortage at the Oxford Veterans home:

(Crouch Shah 2-4-14)

Dr. Shah also stated that there is no timetable for his department to finish up their study of possible health effects from Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas, the state has had a moratorium in place since 2008 on gas drilling.

Republicans in the state senate filed a bill to move New York's primary day to late August, arguing the current September date for state offices is too late, to comply with a federal law, that requires ballots for military and overseas voters to be sent out at least 45 days before the general election.  Assembly Democrats passed a bill last month to move state primaries to the 4th Tuesday in June, coinciding with New York's federal primary date.  If lawmakers fail to agree on a primary date, municipalities will hold a primary for federal offices in June and a separate primary for state offices in September

NYSEG officials announced today that they are aware of fraudulent activities where customers are contacted by email, phone or in person and asked to pay current or past due charges, the payment ends up with scammers, and not NYSEG.  Officials said that NYSEG will not call customers for payment if an account is in good standing; customers are urged to contact the company and sign up for their “AutoPay” service. At NYSEG.com.  Customers, who believe they have been scammed, should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov and their local police.