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.
fmerchantcircle.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. – Scammers are getting wise. They know consumers are getting smarter and that could be why criminals are putting a twist on the popular rental scam, hoping you do just a little bit of research. A woman who asked us to just use her first name, Paula, said her out-of-town sister was close to making a deal to rent a vacation home, in Southwest Florida. “The lease was perfect. It was a perfect lease,” said Paula when her sister sent her the documents. But that perfect lease came with some imperfections. “First of all the person wanted her to wire the money– didn’t want any paper trail what-so-ever,” recalled Paula. “They didn’t want her to speak over the phone, they kept pushing her off on their cell phone. They were going back and forth on the emails and the emails were– the grammar was incorrect.” All of those issues raised red flags for Paula, so she did some more research. She found out that the name of the homeowner matched the name on the lease. So she did a quick search online and was able to reach out to that homeowner, directly. She found out, the home was not for rent at all. “[The homeowner] had just bought the unit…. I had told him that pictures of your unit are up there your address is up there,” said Paula about calling the real owner. “… I was excited that I was able to stop my sister from losing the money.” Fraud Specialist with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Beth Schell explained that scammers are getting smarter. “What else can I do, the criminal is saying, that will just confirm the scam,” she said. If consumers see that the real owner’s name is on the lease, they may overlook some of the other red flags. “That’s just affirming the scam that they’re doing. It’s just putting one more layer to make it look realistic,” said Schell. In Florida, it is fairly easy to find out who owns the property. “It is so easy to do a google check of the address or go to the Property Appraiser’s Office and put an address in and find out who the owner is,” said Schell. “And so these scams are easy to perpetrate because doing it is a simple click. You cut and paste pictures, do a little search, you find out who owns the place, you create a nice little ad, and it looks great for someone who is looking to rent property. And that’s why if you’re looking to rent a place, looking to vacation and you’re online, you always have to check and double check to make sure it’s a legitimate ad.” For Paula, she had a piece of advice for the would-be scammer: “Get a real job. Don’t try to live your life by scamming other people,” she said. Fraud Specialist Beth Schell had this advice for would-be renters. “Run the address, do a google search of the address and see what pops up,” she advised. “You know same way you would do for a scam, if you’re looking to see if something is legit or a company’s legit, you would google it to see what people have to say about it.” Other tips from Schell: Never wire transfer money to someone you don’t know Always search the name and the address of the home Find out if the house was recently for sale and if possible, try to track down and speak to the owner Beware of anyone who refuses to talk to you over the phone and look out for poorly written emails with grammar mistakes If you have any questions, call the Lee Sheriff’s Office Fraud Line: 239-258-3280