Rich Kolko

Gift card sales are way up, more than double what they were in the previous quarter of 2020. One of those cards may be a gift for you during the holidays. But that means more opportunities for people to swipe your money. Gift cards make it easy to purchase items from home, but it’s important […]

Is your kid the lucky one who got the new PlayStation 5 for the holidays? A problem manifesting after you successfully get your hands on one is when the empty console box hits the curb, and everyone knows it’s in your house, including the bad guys. Cape Coral Police Department is partnering with Waste Pro […]

This weekly WINK News segment features fugitives from justice right here in Southwest Florida. This is your chance to help out the community and give the tip that gets these people off the street. These suspects need to be found – and you can help. If you have seen them, reach out to Crime Stoppers […]

A man got out of his car with a hammer and ran after a truck during a road rage incident. WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko says this is exactly what you shouldn’t do. A construction worker in North Port, on his ride to work Tuesday morning, was in the driver’s seat for […]

There are scammers continuing to use the concerns for the pandemic as a way to take advantage of others. Scammers are using “smishing” — messages to sent to personal cell phones — to cause fear and then steal from the person who received it. You might have heard about phishing attacks, which are emails with […]

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it is preparing for a surge in anticipated fraud by criminal networks related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has launched Operation Stolen Promise 2.0, in an effort to identify and prevent the production, sale and distribution of unapproved or unauthorized COVID-19 products and drugs. ICE […]

We’re all checking the mail every day, waiting for our holiday packages. Sometimes it requires a signature, and you can’t be home, so a ‘missed delivery’ sticker is left on the door by the delivery person instead. That’s inconvenient, but is it a scam? When ordering so much or waiting for packages from family it […]

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has had several “Grandchild in Jail” scams reported over the past few months. Here’s what you need to know should you receive one of these suspicious phone calls: In this scam, the suspect contacts the victim posing as a grandchild or the grandchild’s attorney and claims your grandchild (with name) […]

Are any of your passwords 123456? If you said yes, you are one of more than 2.5 million people using the country’s most common password. Whether you use numbers, letters, or a combination thereof, cybersecurity expert Carrie Kerskie, with Kerskie Group, says you need to think unique, not easy to remember. “We see people having […]

The U.S. government is getting ready to crack down on any businesses pedaling phony COVID-19 vaccines. The Better Business Bureau is warning the public about the possible sale of fake COVID-19 vaccines. And the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working with companies currently developing the vaccine to stop the sale of counterfeit vaccines, according […]