Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend 13-year-old gunslingerNaples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend 13-year-old gunslinger The man who helped apprehend a 13-year-old gunslinger spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
MARCO ISLAND Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island set to reopen Collier County announced the reopening of the Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter to host Puppy Bowl 3 ahead of big game Ahead of the big game on Sunday, Cape Coral Animal Shelter will be featuring its very own Puppy Bowl III.
FORT MYERS From the ballpark to the beach: the Minnesota Twins are back for Spring Training 1700 miles later the Twins truck is here and the team from Minnesota is ready to spend the next six weeks here in Fort Myers.
the weather authority Warm stretch continues throughout this weekend The Weather Authority says if you are a fan of the warmer weather, you are going to love this weekend.
SANIBEL Sanibel’s red tide raises health alerts and wildlife concerns With great weather in the forecast, it’s shaping up to be a perfect beach weekend. However, visitors to the barrier islands should exercise caution.
NAPLES Naples Automotive Experience raises funds for St. Matthew’s House The Naples Automotive Experience brought excitement and philanthropy to the community, raising money for St. Matthew’s House.
MATLACHA Little Pine Island bridge work causes delays, FDOT promises progress Construction on the Little Pine Island Bridge has narrowed traffic to one lane, causing significant delays for drivers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Support women’s heart health on National Wear Red Day The first Friday in February marks National Wear Red Day!
Ongoing repairs following Naples plane crash A deadly plane crash that occurred one year ago in Naples, Florida continues to impact lives in Southwest Florida. The tragic event involved two pilots who lost their lives on Interstate 75.
Naples jet crash, one year later: new details on emergency response Sunday marks one year since a jet crashed after its pilots attempted an emergency landing on I-75 just outside of Naples. “Your mind goes back to everything that happened that day,” said Heather Mazurkiewicz, public information officer with the North Collier Fire Rescue. “I think about the fact that there weren’t more lives lost.” At […]
LCSO cutting down law enforcement response times The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up to implement “Prepared 9-1-1,” a new tool designed to enhance emergency response times.
How Harry Chapin Food Bank supports struggling families In the heart of Dunbar, a neighborhood in Fort Myers, the STARS Complex becomes a place of hope as the Harry Chapin Food Bank supports families in need.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend 13-year-old gunslinger The man who helped apprehend a 13-year-old gunslinger spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
MARCO ISLAND Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island set to reopen Collier County announced the reopening of the Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter to host Puppy Bowl 3 ahead of big game Ahead of the big game on Sunday, Cape Coral Animal Shelter will be featuring its very own Puppy Bowl III.
FORT MYERS From the ballpark to the beach: the Minnesota Twins are back for Spring Training 1700 miles later the Twins truck is here and the team from Minnesota is ready to spend the next six weeks here in Fort Myers.
the weather authority Warm stretch continues throughout this weekend The Weather Authority says if you are a fan of the warmer weather, you are going to love this weekend.
SANIBEL Sanibel’s red tide raises health alerts and wildlife concerns With great weather in the forecast, it’s shaping up to be a perfect beach weekend. However, visitors to the barrier islands should exercise caution.
NAPLES Naples Automotive Experience raises funds for St. Matthew’s House The Naples Automotive Experience brought excitement and philanthropy to the community, raising money for St. Matthew’s House.
MATLACHA Little Pine Island bridge work causes delays, FDOT promises progress Construction on the Little Pine Island Bridge has narrowed traffic to one lane, causing significant delays for drivers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Support women’s heart health on National Wear Red Day The first Friday in February marks National Wear Red Day!
Ongoing repairs following Naples plane crash A deadly plane crash that occurred one year ago in Naples, Florida continues to impact lives in Southwest Florida. The tragic event involved two pilots who lost their lives on Interstate 75.
Naples jet crash, one year later: new details on emergency response Sunday marks one year since a jet crashed after its pilots attempted an emergency landing on I-75 just outside of Naples. “Your mind goes back to everything that happened that day,” said Heather Mazurkiewicz, public information officer with the North Collier Fire Rescue. “I think about the fact that there weren’t more lives lost.” At […]
LCSO cutting down law enforcement response times The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up to implement “Prepared 9-1-1,” a new tool designed to enhance emergency response times.
How Harry Chapin Food Bank supports struggling families In the heart of Dunbar, a neighborhood in Fort Myers, the STARS Complex becomes a place of hope as the Harry Chapin Food Bank supports families in need.
MGN Online FORT MYERS, Fla. – Close to 52,000 children fall victim to identity theft each year according to the Florida Department of Agriculture, and law enforcement officials say it continues to grow. WINK News contacted the Charlotte, Collier and Lee County Sheriff’s Offices and requested the number of child identity theft cases reported in the last five years. Both Charlotte and Lee counties do not keep track of identity theft cases in minors; however, Collier County does. In 2014, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office received 11 reports of child identity theft compared to one case reported 1o years prior. However, officials said those numbers should be much higher. “It is a huge problem. Not a lot of people are tracking it, they just kind of lump it in with general identity theft but criminals love children because they can have almost a full 18 years before it ever is detected,” said identity theft expert Carrie Kerskie. “Parents don’t know to report it. The last time I looked at a statistic something like 60 percent of identity theft cases never get reported to law enforcement.” The other issue Kerskie said is parents do not know their children are victims because no one is checking. But, there are ways to protect your child. “I would highly recommend and encourage parents to put a security freeze on their child’s credit. It’s fairly simple to do, and I think that’s really the only secure way to keep someone from going in and using that credit,” said fraud specialist with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Beth Schell. “It’s just a matter and responsibility for us to protect our children when they can’t themselves.” In order to put a security freeze on your child’s account, you need to contact each credit bureau and request the freeze. It costs $10 per bureau. Credit destroyed as a teen WINK News Call for Action reporter Lindsey Sablan interviewed one young lady, who had her identity stolen while she was in foster care. The victim asked she remain anonymous, so for the purpose of this story we have named her Julia. Julia said when she was 15 years old she received credit cards in the mail, but she never thought it was an issue. However, when she turned 18 and tried to get a phone, Julia realized someone had racked up debt under her social security number. “When I tried to get a phone at T-Mobile, I couldn’t get a phone because my credit,” Julia said. “When I go look for a place, usually they do a credit check. If I try to buy a car, they got to do a credit check and I’m not going to be able to buy a car and make [a] payment because I owe a lot of money on credit card [sic].” Julia does not know exactly who stole her identity but she has her suspicions. Experts said often in cases like Julia’s the suspect is a person who knew the child but not always. “It’s a multi-trillion dollar industry of buying and selling information and it all goes on the deep web,” said Kerskie. “I tell everyone to assume your information is already on the information black market and you need to take precaution, and you need to be diligent of monitoring your information.” As for Julia, she is trying to save up to pay cash for a car because she still cannot get a loan. “They messed me up big time…It [identity theft] affects us for the rest of our life.”