Elevate Kava Bar, offering an alternative nightlife experience, to open near FGCUHope Card program protects victims of domestic violence in Lee County
ESTERO Elevate Kava Bar, offering an alternative nightlife experience, to open near FGCU University Village near Florida Gulf Coast University will soon be home to a new kava bar.
Hope Card program protects victims of domestic violence in Lee County Lee County has implemented the Hope Card Program, a new statewide initiative to help victims of domestic violence.
Woman in custody following Charlotte County fatal shooting According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a woman is in custody after a fatal shooting at a home in Charlotte County.
NCH offers new process to improve blood flow Getting a stent to improve blood flow to the heart is a very common procedure. In some cases, the issue comes back as scar tissue forms around the stent.
92.5 FOX News launches 10th annual ‘10,000 for the Troops’ campaign in support of deployed U.S. military personnel Sun Broadcasting’s 92.5 FOX News Radio announced the launch of its 10th annual “10,000 for the Troops” campaign, which is in partnership with the Military Support Program at Lee Memorial Health Systems.
FORT MYERS Tired of traffic trouble spots? Now is your chance to weigh in on changes Voice your thoughts on what Southwest Florida roads need improving.
Punta Gorda Council discusses proposed new $16M City Hall Punta Gorda City Council got sticker shock Dec. 4 when they learned that a new City Hall building with a design chosen by former council members would cost close to $16 million.
Department of Labor seeks to distribute $4.7M in wages owed to Florida workers With year-end approaching, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor is working to return $4,737,110 in wages it recovered to almost 7,500 Florida workers who earned them.
GLADES COUNTY Florida panther struck by vehicle in Glades County; 32nd death in 2024 A 7-to-8-month-old panther was killed by a vehicle in Glades County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 32 for 2024.
FORT MYERS Commissioner Hamman: Caloosahatchee bridge project to be completed soon The pedestrian walkway project on the Caloosahatchee bridge in Fort Myers is on schedule and is expected to be completed before Christmas Day.
WINK NEWS Citizens Property Insurance passes important milestone in depopulation program This is a sign our insurance crisis in Florida is recovering. Citizens, designed to be Floridian’s last resort insurer, is shrinking.
WINK NEWS Expect warmer temperatures for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking increased temperatures. Thursday is in the 50s, and the warming trend is continuing into the weekend.
WINK NEWS Smoke from prescribed burns this Thursday The Weather Authority is tracking smoke in the air Thursday morning. If you notice smoke, it’s likely from recent prescribed burns.
LEHIGH ACRES Firefighters break open submerged car in Lehigh Acres Firefighters break open a submerged car and appear to rescue someone stuck inside in Lehigh Acres overnight.
FORT MYERS Stem donor meets recipient at Florida Gulf Coast University An FGCU student is giving the gift of life this holiday season. FGCU senior Zoe Horowitz met the person who received her stem cell donation.
ESTERO Elevate Kava Bar, offering an alternative nightlife experience, to open near FGCU University Village near Florida Gulf Coast University will soon be home to a new kava bar.
Hope Card program protects victims of domestic violence in Lee County Lee County has implemented the Hope Card Program, a new statewide initiative to help victims of domestic violence.
Woman in custody following Charlotte County fatal shooting According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a woman is in custody after a fatal shooting at a home in Charlotte County.
NCH offers new process to improve blood flow Getting a stent to improve blood flow to the heart is a very common procedure. In some cases, the issue comes back as scar tissue forms around the stent.
92.5 FOX News launches 10th annual ‘10,000 for the Troops’ campaign in support of deployed U.S. military personnel Sun Broadcasting’s 92.5 FOX News Radio announced the launch of its 10th annual “10,000 for the Troops” campaign, which is in partnership with the Military Support Program at Lee Memorial Health Systems.
FORT MYERS Tired of traffic trouble spots? Now is your chance to weigh in on changes Voice your thoughts on what Southwest Florida roads need improving.
Punta Gorda Council discusses proposed new $16M City Hall Punta Gorda City Council got sticker shock Dec. 4 when they learned that a new City Hall building with a design chosen by former council members would cost close to $16 million.
Department of Labor seeks to distribute $4.7M in wages owed to Florida workers With year-end approaching, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor is working to return $4,737,110 in wages it recovered to almost 7,500 Florida workers who earned them.
GLADES COUNTY Florida panther struck by vehicle in Glades County; 32nd death in 2024 A 7-to-8-month-old panther was killed by a vehicle in Glades County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 32 for 2024.
FORT MYERS Commissioner Hamman: Caloosahatchee bridge project to be completed soon The pedestrian walkway project on the Caloosahatchee bridge in Fort Myers is on schedule and is expected to be completed before Christmas Day.
WINK NEWS Citizens Property Insurance passes important milestone in depopulation program This is a sign our insurance crisis in Florida is recovering. Citizens, designed to be Floridian’s last resort insurer, is shrinking.
WINK NEWS Expect warmer temperatures for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking increased temperatures. Thursday is in the 50s, and the warming trend is continuing into the weekend.
WINK NEWS Smoke from prescribed burns this Thursday The Weather Authority is tracking smoke in the air Thursday morning. If you notice smoke, it’s likely from recent prescribed burns.
LEHIGH ACRES Firefighters break open submerged car in Lehigh Acres Firefighters break open a submerged car and appear to rescue someone stuck inside in Lehigh Acres overnight.
FORT MYERS Stem donor meets recipient at Florida Gulf Coast University An FGCU student is giving the gift of life this holiday season. FGCU senior Zoe Horowitz met the person who received her stem cell donation.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – In 2014, tens of millions Americans had their credit card numbers compromised, after hackers broke into several stores’ databases including Target, Home Depot and Michaels. However, banks across the U.S. are offering new credit cards, known as ‘chip and signature,’ that claim to offer more protection. The formal name for the card is EMV or Europay, Mastercard and Visa. In Europe, the cards have been used for at least a decade. The EMV cards have a small chip, typically in the upper, left-hand corner of the card. That chip holds all the card’s information. When a consumer uses the card, they put it into an EMV reader. In Europe, a consumer must have a PIN to use the card. In a sense, that PIN unlocks all the information in the chip, so a transaction can be processed. However, there are two differences between the EMV cards being distributed in the U.S. and the ones used in Europe. In the U.S., most banks offering the EMV cards are not offering a PIN. Instead, the consumer puts the card in a terminal and signs for the transaction. John Benkert, a cyber security expert and CEO of CPR Tools, Inc, said without the PIN, the consumer is not as protected. “The way they’re selling it is we’re giving you the chip, we’re giving you the technology, [but] we’re not using it,” Benkert said. “They’re blaming it on the American consumer saying they’re lazy, they don’t want to have to remember a PIN and it’s not easy for them, it’s easier to sign. But if you’re like me, I typically don’t sign the back of my credit cards anyway, I never have. I expect that store teller or person taking my credit card is going to ask me to see an ID, so they can verify my signature and that happens probably 5 percent of the time.” In addition, the banks are still putting the black, magnetic stripe on the back of the EMV cards because not every retailer has a terminal that can read the card. However, Benkert said that defeats the purpose of the chip. To prove his point, Benkert used a skimmer that anyone can purchase for $30. He asked a WINK News producer to use her new ‘chip and signature’ card and swiped the card. Within seconds, the skimmer pulled up all the card’s information on the computer. “It’s scary and it’s something that the technology is there, the technology has been there for years to fix it. It all comes down to the dollar and most major banks and credit card companies don’t want to spend the money that it will take to do the right thing.” Bank’s Response WINK News contacted Citi and Bank of America, just some of the companies offering the ‘chip and signature’ card. We asked Citi if they had a response to Benkert’s claims. They sent the below response. “Today, all new Citi Branded credit card accounts are issued with chip technology (we are using chip and signature technology). We have been on a path to migrate our Citi-branded consumer credit cards to chip for the past several years. More than 10 million Citi MasterCard and Visa accounts have been issued with an EMV card. For the majority of our credit card customers, if they wish to request a chip-enabled card they can make the request online or by calling Customer Service. Citi will begin issuing consumer debit cards with EMV in 2015.” Bank of America’s statement is also below. “Our consumer credit cards are chip and signature, which provides a more consistent customer experience, enabling them to use their cards as they do today. The counterfeit protection is within the chip, not how consumer verify (PIN or signature). ”