It wasn’t easy to research Jeff Petrower ’11 (BUS, MS) in preparation for our interview. Virtually no information about him came up online — which is exactly how the IRS Criminal Investigation special agent who specializes in cyber scams likes it.
On the phone, he did share a few personal details — like how he met his wife on campus.
The Stamford, Connecticut, native whose mother, Kathy Petrower ’80 (BUS), also graduated from UConn, was introduced to Laura Vargo ’11 (CLAS) through mutual friends at on-campus bar the Thirsty Dog. After discovering they both lived in Charter Oak Apartments, Vargo slipped a note under his door, inviting him over for dinner she’d cook and providing three menu options: penne alla vodka, chicken cordon bleu, or “Manwiches.”
Petrower, who readily admits being “unsophisticated” at the time, selected the third option. Eight years later, they hung a UConn banner at their wedding and now live in New York City with their 1-year-old daughter, Alice.
After working for a decade as an auditor, financial risk consultant, and forensic accountant with KPMG and later Deloitte, two of the so-called Big Four accounting firms, Petrower joined IRS Criminal Investigation as a special agent in 2022, a dozen years after first discovering the division at an outreach event on campus his senior year.
We asked him to share his top five ways to avoid becoming a cybercrime victim.
