ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – A veteran in Southwest Florida had his account through the VA hacked twice in a matter of two months. Frank Taylor served in the Navy in Vietnam, but today sitting on his own couch talking to WINK News, he said he did not feel safe. Every month, Taylor has his disability compensation from U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs directly deposited into his bank account. On October 1 the money was never deposited. Taylor said he called the VA several times, before he was told his account had been hacked. During one conversation, the representative asked Taylor to read back his personal information, and that was when he realized something was not right. “I started to give her [the VA representative] my address and she said, ‘that’s not the address we have here, we have a different address.'” Taylor said. “She asked me for my bank account number, and I gave it to her. She said ‘that doesn’t match the records.'” WINK News contacted the VA office in St. Petersburg and spoke to Suzanne Nunziata, the assistant director of the regional office. Nunziata said someone had setup an eBenefits account for Taylor, which is the VA’s online system veterans can use to monitor their information and benefits. Taylor had never setup an account himself. “Initially there was a stop put on the eBenefits account…There was also a fraud alert placed on Mr. Taylor’s account, and what that requires then is that should anyone attempt to change his [Taylor’s] address or bank account information, that would have to be done now by Mr. Taylor.” It is unclear where Frank Taylor’s personal information was compromised. However, WINK News talked to the chief information officer for the entire VA, Stan Lowe. Lowe said with the increase in data breaches at stores, there is going to be a jump in identity theft. “We’ve been talking about this among our security staff for awhile….One of the things that we’re talking abut internally is how to enhance our reporting procedures in how to identify trends, to better spot this proactively because we’re not the only ones who are experiencing this,” Lowe said. The biggest issue with the VA’s system is the eBenefits does not check a veteran’s information with their existing account, so there is no way to tell if there is a discrepancy between an account already registered through the VA and an account setup online. “I never received any notification at all that there were changes made to my account. How could that happen?” Taylor asked. “That’s one of the things we’re continually looking at…For an individual that is currently getting benefits that has never registered electronically before how do we crosswalk that more effectively to make sure…we can better prevent those types of activities,” Lowe explained. Meanwhile, Nunziata and the VA assured Frank Taylor his eBenefits account had been deactivated October 17, so it would not be hacked again. However, November 1 came and Taylor again did not receive his money. We called Nunziata and found Taylor’s account had been hacked again. The VA has once again assured Taylor and WINK News this will not happen again on December 1, but Taylor is not confident. “When I asked them what they’re going to do to make sure it doesn’t occur again, they had no explanation,” Taylor said. Veterans are encouraged to visit VA’s Identity Theft webpage. To access, click here. If a Veteran believes his or her identity has been compromised, they may contact the VA Identity Safety Service staff through its toll-free Identity Theft help line at 1-855-578-5492 or by email at vaidtheft@va.gov.