Entryway work temporarily closes North Port LibraryMore changes near Colonial Blvd. and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
FORT MYERS More changes near Colonial Blvd. and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers An already jam-packed, headache-inducing area for traffic is expected to get worse on Monday.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Preseason preparations With less than a month until the official start of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated May 5th to May 11th National Hurricane Preparedness Week.
CAPE CORAL Temporary closures planned for Cape Coral athletic fields Three athletic fields in Cape Coral will temporarily close in May and another in June.
FORT MYERS Influencer shooting victim ‘Hood Fishing’ is stable and recovering A local internet star injured during a shooting in broad daylight on Fort Myers Street is still recovering from what happened.
NAPLES $8K reward offered for information on 2 brothers wanted in fatal stabbing More money is up for grabs if you’re able to help police find two brothers who allegedly stabbed two men in Collier County.
NEW YORK Trump fined $1K for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has fined him $1,000 for violating his gag order and has sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
Exclusive: More than 100 American Flamingos counted in Florida Audubon Florida has revealed the numbers of flamingos in the state to WINK News, in advance of an official statement scheduled for later Monday.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested after police respond to shooting outside Cape Coral home A man has been taken into custody after a reported shooting in a Cape Coral neighborhood where a car was found with at least one bullet hole.
Charlotte County home sellers had 2nd highest profit margin in Q1 While nationwide profit margins for home sales decreased 55%, in Charlotte County the profit margin for sellers rose to 103.1% for the first three months of the year.
FORT MYERS Second teen accused in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to face charges as an adult A second teen will face adult charges in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller.
FORT MYERS Man accused of murder in Fort Myers will be in court for arraignment The man accused of shooting and killing a man near Roberto Clemente Park in Fort Myers is scheduled to be in court today.
FORT MYERS Black bear sighted in downtown Fort Myers parking lot captured, relocated Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tranquilized and captured a Florida black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers on Monday morning.
LEHIGH ACRES 2 ATVs ticketed at Barefoot Lake after owner bars public Two ATVs were issued tickets at Barefoot Lake and towed away over the weekend after the property owner decided to bar the public.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
FORT MYERS More changes near Colonial Blvd. and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers An already jam-packed, headache-inducing area for traffic is expected to get worse on Monday.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Preseason preparations With less than a month until the official start of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated May 5th to May 11th National Hurricane Preparedness Week.
CAPE CORAL Temporary closures planned for Cape Coral athletic fields Three athletic fields in Cape Coral will temporarily close in May and another in June.
FORT MYERS Influencer shooting victim ‘Hood Fishing’ is stable and recovering A local internet star injured during a shooting in broad daylight on Fort Myers Street is still recovering from what happened.
NAPLES $8K reward offered for information on 2 brothers wanted in fatal stabbing More money is up for grabs if you’re able to help police find two brothers who allegedly stabbed two men in Collier County.
NEW YORK Trump fined $1K for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has fined him $1,000 for violating his gag order and has sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
Exclusive: More than 100 American Flamingos counted in Florida Audubon Florida has revealed the numbers of flamingos in the state to WINK News, in advance of an official statement scheduled for later Monday.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested after police respond to shooting outside Cape Coral home A man has been taken into custody after a reported shooting in a Cape Coral neighborhood where a car was found with at least one bullet hole.
Charlotte County home sellers had 2nd highest profit margin in Q1 While nationwide profit margins for home sales decreased 55%, in Charlotte County the profit margin for sellers rose to 103.1% for the first three months of the year.
FORT MYERS Second teen accused in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to face charges as an adult A second teen will face adult charges in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller.
FORT MYERS Man accused of murder in Fort Myers will be in court for arraignment The man accused of shooting and killing a man near Roberto Clemente Park in Fort Myers is scheduled to be in court today.
FORT MYERS Black bear sighted in downtown Fort Myers parking lot captured, relocated Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tranquilized and captured a Florida black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers on Monday morning.
LEHIGH ACRES 2 ATVs ticketed at Barefoot Lake after owner bars public Two ATVs were issued tickets at Barefoot Lake and towed away over the weekend after the property owner decided to bar the public.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
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.