Decreasing humidity and mostly sunny skies for your ThursdayThe Salvation Army of Collier County launches annual toy drive
the weather authority Decreasing humidity and mostly sunny skies for your Thursday The Weather Authority is tracking a cold front dropping humidity and temperatures on this Thursday afternoon.
The Salvation Army of Collier County launches annual toy drive The annual Toys for Tots donation drive in Collier County has officially begun, aiming to bring Christmas joy through generosity.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral’s new council eliminates stipend on day one People in Cape Coral are getting what they voted for: the new city council members were just sworn in, and they eliminated the stipend.
LEHIGH ACRES Man arrested for fatal hit-and-run crash with motorcyclist in Lehigh Acres A man has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed a motorcyclist on Tuesday night.
Latest details on fatal Alligator Alley crash ; 1 killed According to the arrest report, a man told troopers he got a minivan from a pastor but did not get permission to take it out because he left in the middle of the night
Enforcing state law on street camping in Punta Gorda More than a month since the new state law banning sleeping in public places went into effect the city of Punta Gorda voted on if an ordinance change was needed.
Cape Coral home vandalized; homeowner calls it a “hate crime” A man returned to his unfinished Cape Coral home to find it’s been violated and vandalized. Cape Coral police are searching for the suspect.
SWFL organizations putting donated money to good use 41 Southwest Florida organizations are still in shock about the millions of dollars they received from philanthropist Tom Golisano.
Utility scams awareness day: what you need to know Wednesday is utility scams awareness day. These types of scams target customers by going door-to-door, sending phone calls or texts and using false information online.
NAPLES Salvation Army of Collier County kicks off annual Christmas toy drive The Salvation Army of Collier County has kicked off its annual Christmas toy drive, and you won’t have to travel far to get involved.
Record Store Day Black Friday: Where to go in SWFL Record Store Day Black Friday is approaching quickly, and if you’re not looking for a new TV or a video game console, go to your local record store, as they will have exclusive deals to expand your record collection.
Manasota Key residents concerned over new development on the island Residents of a small island community are expressing their concerns about potential changes to their neighborhood.
FORT MYERS Resident reacts to plan for new Amazon facility in Fort Myers Amazon has paid $66.5M for 143 acres in Fort Myers to build a new warehouse. A resident who lives by the property said she has reservations about the facility.
ESTERO Caught on Camera: Woman accused of stealing from Kate Spade outlet A Cape Coral woman has been arrested for grand theft after she was allegedly caught on camera shoplifting at a Kate Spade store in Estero.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers basketball player returns to the court after two years Fort Myers High School basketball player Karsten Schafer played his first game in two years Tuesday night after having a spinal surgery.
the weather authority Decreasing humidity and mostly sunny skies for your Thursday The Weather Authority is tracking a cold front dropping humidity and temperatures on this Thursday afternoon.
The Salvation Army of Collier County launches annual toy drive The annual Toys for Tots donation drive in Collier County has officially begun, aiming to bring Christmas joy through generosity.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral’s new council eliminates stipend on day one People in Cape Coral are getting what they voted for: the new city council members were just sworn in, and they eliminated the stipend.
LEHIGH ACRES Man arrested for fatal hit-and-run crash with motorcyclist in Lehigh Acres A man has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed a motorcyclist on Tuesday night.
Latest details on fatal Alligator Alley crash ; 1 killed According to the arrest report, a man told troopers he got a minivan from a pastor but did not get permission to take it out because he left in the middle of the night
Enforcing state law on street camping in Punta Gorda More than a month since the new state law banning sleeping in public places went into effect the city of Punta Gorda voted on if an ordinance change was needed.
Cape Coral home vandalized; homeowner calls it a “hate crime” A man returned to his unfinished Cape Coral home to find it’s been violated and vandalized. Cape Coral police are searching for the suspect.
SWFL organizations putting donated money to good use 41 Southwest Florida organizations are still in shock about the millions of dollars they received from philanthropist Tom Golisano.
Utility scams awareness day: what you need to know Wednesday is utility scams awareness day. These types of scams target customers by going door-to-door, sending phone calls or texts and using false information online.
NAPLES Salvation Army of Collier County kicks off annual Christmas toy drive The Salvation Army of Collier County has kicked off its annual Christmas toy drive, and you won’t have to travel far to get involved.
Record Store Day Black Friday: Where to go in SWFL Record Store Day Black Friday is approaching quickly, and if you’re not looking for a new TV or a video game console, go to your local record store, as they will have exclusive deals to expand your record collection.
Manasota Key residents concerned over new development on the island Residents of a small island community are expressing their concerns about potential changes to their neighborhood.
FORT MYERS Resident reacts to plan for new Amazon facility in Fort Myers Amazon has paid $66.5M for 143 acres in Fort Myers to build a new warehouse. A resident who lives by the property said she has reservations about the facility.
ESTERO Caught on Camera: Woman accused of stealing from Kate Spade outlet A Cape Coral woman has been arrested for grand theft after she was allegedly caught on camera shoplifting at a Kate Spade store in Estero.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers basketball player returns to the court after two years Fort Myers High School basketball player Karsten Schafer played his first game in two years Tuesday night after having a spinal surgery.
Marco Island Police Dept. (Credit: WINK News) The Marco Island Police Department is investigating two separate reports of vacation property rental scams. Two completely different reports, but a lot of the information is similar. Someone found a property online, sent money ranging from $800 to almost $3,000, and once they showed up at the property, they found out they had been scammed. It is a scam that isn’t hard to fall for. You want a nice vacation, so you hop online to find a place to rent. Dina Johnson, a realtor in Marco Island, said, “sometimes people are just excited, and they just don’t really think about how easy it is in this day and age to scam people.” The property you think you’re renting may not be real, or if it is, the person you’re renting it from isn’t. “If it looks too good to be true, you better take a hard look and make sure you’re dealing with the owner,” said Detective Sergeant Mark Huffor with the Marco Island Police Department. Johnson said she’s heard of people falling victim to the rental scam. “When he got here, it turned out to be a scam. He had sent like a $4,000 deposit and the person actually didn’t own the property.” Detective Sergeant Huffor said they’ve identified four vacation rental scams in a week. “I’ll look online and look to see if there’s any suspicious rental listings and try to contact the owner. I contacted the owners, who confirmed that they did not rent their property out.” “Really all they have to do is find pictures of a property on the internet so readily available and just create their own post and if you don’t really check into it or it’s not an accredited management company or something, it’s very real that it can happen,” said Johnson. The scams can be hard to investigate. “Sometimes our investigations will lead overseas and it’s very difficult to touch people that are out of the country,” said Huffor. And if you want to get your money back, Huffor said, “the first thing they’re going to need to do to claim a credit would be to have a police report. So, we want to make sure that they have what they need in order to file a claim with whatever bank or entity that they made the deposit.” To avoid falling victim to one of these scams, Hoffer and Johnson recommend you contact the management company for the listing to verify that the property is being rented, or you can call your realtor or a local realtor and ask them to verify the owners.