(By Steve Duello) The Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce held its monthly membership luncheon Thursday at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille. Lee County Sheriff’s Office Crime Prevention Practitioner Tiffany Wood (pictured with Chamber President Jacki Liszak) was the guest speaker.
In her role of educating the public on crime prevention and building relationships between the community and the sheriff’s office Wood offered tips, warnings and recommendations to avoid scams and to prevent fraud and identity theft. The FCC estimates there are more than 80 million robocalls per day. Wood’s recommendations: don’t answer the phone if you don’t know who it is, let them leave a message. If no message is left do not call the number back. Common phone scams are to ask people to update or verify an account and the best action to take is to hang up the phone. “Info criminals” typically seek names, SSN, credit/debit card number, driver’s license number, bank account number, date of birth, place of birth and mother’s maiden name. Other tips: Don’t carry SS card with you. Beware using public Wi-Fi. Shred discarded documents. Don’t leave important documents laying around. The LCSO is there to help 24/7. For “non-emergency” issues contact the sheriffs office at 239-477-1000. For emergencies dial 911.
An additional special guest, Marty Miele, Southwest Regional Manager, Office of External Affairs attended the luncheon representing Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Parsons, Florida Department of Financial Services.
The Chamber recognized Lee County Deputy Angel Falcon as the “Deputy of the month” for his role in investigating and apprehending individuals responsible for a recent burglary at Planet Fitness, fraudulent use of a stolen credit card and fleeing Filipe’s Mexican Taqueria without paying the bill. During a subsequent traffic stop during spring break Deputy Falcon recognized the subjects as the suspects from the earlier incidents. LCSO Detectives arrested the suspect and stolen property was returned to the owner.