Nationwide, victims are reaching out to law enforcement agencies regarding horrific phone calls indicating that a member of the family has been abducted by a Mexican drug cartel. Calls may come from a VoIP source which digitizes audio and transmits it over the internet or may simply appear as a standard local or out-of-area phone…
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For those of us old enough to remember life before the internet, today’s access to information online is remarkable. However, like most other technologies, criminals and wrong-doers have found numerous ways to turn this extraordinary tool into something dark, devious and dangerous. Despite ongoing and endless warnings to parents and their children, minors continue to…
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The Federal Trade Commission works diligently, throughout the year, to both document consumer fraud incidents, as well as to notify law enforcement of current trends and activities. The information is stored in a secure database called the “Consumer Sentinel Network” and available to law enforcement agencies only. This information is extremely valuable and we pass…
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Shortly following the start of the new year, holiday scammers tuck away their fraudulent Christmas emails, to be used again next year, and begin preparing their romance scam materials. Romance scams have become more popular and more deceptive and, as developing an online relationship takes a bit of time, the Valentine’s Day scammers are already…
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The holidays have passed and we begin a new year here in Lee County. While Santa has returned to the North Pole, the seasonal congestion that we experience here in Southwest Florida remains. Lee County, as a rule, experiences an approximate population increase of 22 percent during season. This equates to a significant increase in…
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