Rich Kolko
Professional Experience
Hired in 2019 as the Safety and Security Specialist at WINK News. FBI Special Agent 1996-2017 serving in Atlanta, New York, FBI HQ and Quantico, VA. Served in the Navy, both on active duty and the reserve, retiring as a Commander in 2011.
News Philosophy
Work to help the citizens of SWFL keep their family, home, cyber, and finances safe and secure.
Hobbies & Interests
Flying, fishing & luge.
Education
Masters in Homeland Security from American Military University, Bachelors in Communications from the University of Miami.
Likes best about Southwest Florida
The people along with the weather and no DC traffic!
Hometown
Poughkeepsie, NY.
Airports continue to test out facial recognition technology
Facial recognition technology is becoming more common at airports in the United States. Orlando had the new technology installed last year, and Miami just...
How to protect yourself while traveling abroad
Summer is coming, and a lot of us are looking for adventure abroad. There are ways to protect ourselves in case something goes wrong.
We...
How to protect your cell phone account from scammers
Investigators took down a suspect wanted in a nearly million-dollar fraud scheme in Lee County.
Secret service agents say Nelson Dejesus and five others operating...
Smartphone Safety
Verizon will launch a data plan aimed at children Thursday. The "Just Kids" plan includes safety features and parental controls, but many parents are...
Why did prosecutors drop the charges against Jussie Smollett?
Prosecutors dropped charges against Jussie Smollett after police said the "Empire" actor staged a hate crime attack.
Rich Kolko, WINK News safety and security specialist,...
Are you at risk? FEMA data spill exposes 3 million people
Social security numbers, banking information and home addresses, FEMA is the agency supposed to help when disaster strikes. But the agency recently put millions...
How to look up sexual predators in your neighborhood
Keeping your children safe from sexual predators who could offend again.
The best way to know if a sexual predator is in your neighborhood is...
Lee County school district hosts event to keep kids safe online
The Lee County school district wants to arm parents with knowledge, so they can protect their kids online.
Six to nine hours — that's how...
How to stop your smart phone from tracking you
It's no secret, people love their smart phones.
And for iPhones and Androids, they come with a pre-installed app that tracks your location.
But there’s more.
Every...
What are the red flags of a virtual kidnappings?
There are only about 100 to 200 non-family kidnappings a year in the United States. I am here to tell you, placing a call...
