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Al Qaeda in Syracuse

Senator Chuck Schumer was in Syracuse on Monday afternoon, telling reporters that 26 small businesses have  been hacked.  At least two are being sued by their phone companies for not paying their bills.

CNY Central is reporting that compromised phone numbers in Syracuse are being linked to telephone accounts in Somalia and the Philippines traced back to Al-Qaeda.

Schumer is asking  the Federal Communications Commission to impose the same kind of protection credit cards carry , which would remove the financial liability from the business, or person, who's been hacked.

CNY says the calls are made within a short time period, and not discovered until the phone bill arrives, up to a month later.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.