American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers BeachEnglewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery
FORT MYERS BEACH American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers Beach After a year’s long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery Many people in Charlotte County were hit hard by storms this hurricane season, but that won’t stop them from giving back to their community.
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
FORT MYERS BEACH American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers Beach After a year’s long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery Many people in Charlotte County were hit hard by storms this hurricane season, but that won’t stop them from giving back to their community.
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
QR codes on Fort Myers Beach are one way to pay for parking. CREDIT: WINK News When enjoying a day on Fort Myers Beach, QR codes for parking shouldn’t be a problem. “I’ve never had any issues,” said beachgoer Patrick Russo. “They’re everywhere,” said beachgoer Gracie Boggs. While it isn’t a problem for Russo and Boggs, they haven’t had an experience like Jennifer Ewing, who said a charge that isn’t hers showed up on her account. “I don’t want to risk paying anywhere that they have that kind of parking,” Ewing said. Ewing parked in the lot across from Lynn Hall Memorial Park, paid with a QR code, and went to visit friends for lunch at Bella Mozzarella. “The next day, on my way to work, I got a fraud alert from my credit union stating if I had authorized an $86.38 charge to Wingstop,” said Ewing. The Wingstop looked to be located in California. Suncoast Credit Union blocked Ewing’s card, but the charge still went through. “Somebody’s hacking and stealing credit card information, debit card information, and using it to their disposal,” Ewing said. According to Government Watchdog Insider Intelligence, 94 million Americans will use their phones to scan a QR code this year. Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert at NerdWallet, said QR fraudulent charges are similar to ATM fraudulent charges. “Whenever you are scanning a QR code, you want to take an extra step to make sure you know what URL it’s leading to,” Palmer said. “That it’s somewhere expected.” A spokesperson for the Town of Fort Myers Beach told WINK News the fraudulent charges can come when people use QR code reader applications, not their phone cameras, to read the QR code. These apps have advertisements that pop up, and clicking on those advertisements could lead to false charges. Ewing told WINK News she used her phone’s camera, not an app. The Town of Fort Myers Beach is working on new parking signs to avoid the issue. Suncoast Credit Union said it will take about eight to ten days to investigate Ewing’s Wingstop charge. The credit union provided WINK News with a statement saying, “Suncoast Credit Union encourages all consumers to be aware and diligent regarding their accounts and financial information. QR scams are an example of how fraud schemes continue to evolve and how technology is being used to commit crimes. Parking meters are a prime target for this type of fraud.” Suncoast also gave WINK News some helpful tips, such as inspecting a QR code URL before opening it, checking QR codes carefully, and not scanning a QR code in an email or text message.