There’s A New Scam Being Delivered To Southwest Florida

Almost weekly it seems we hear of new ways scammers are hitting our area and now there's a new scam being delivered to Southwest Florida.

If you're like me, you have a steady stream of packages delivered to your door. So much so that there may be a package in the mix that you forgot that you ordered. I'm pretty sure the delivery guy has his truck on autopilot to my house in Fort Myers. Ok, maybe it's not that bad, but I do order pretty regularly. It's just too convenient and Prime Day, hello! It's hard to let a good deal pass you by. We all know that the influx of online shopping has created the porch pirate who comes in plundering packages left unattended on porches or outside front doors.

According to NBC2, residents of Charlotte County have fallen victim to a devious new scheme known as brushing. In a brushing scam, homeowners receive packages they never ordered, seemingly sent in their name. But here's the twist – these packages are not gifts or random acts of kindness. Instead, they are tools in the hands of scammers who are up to no good.

By sending you these unsolicited items, they create fake reviews in your name, giving the illusion of a bustling and successful business. It's a sneaky scheme to trick potential customers into thinking the product is legit and garnering trust.

Yes, your information like your name and address have been stolen, which could potentially lead to other issues, this one is more to scam other people. Because of the fake review written under your name, the scam could be passed onto others who buy something that's not as good as it seems.

If you didn't order the merchandise that was delivered to you, there's a few things you should do. First, check your accounts to make sure that you didn't pay for it. If you want to get rid of it, while most times these packages won't come with a return address, if there IS one, you can make it “RETURN TO SENDER” and USPS will return it at no cost. You can also choose to keep it or throw it away. Then, keep a close eye on your credit monitoring and personal accounts to make sure nothing seems fishy.

Ouch. That one stings a little. A brand-new index study reveals Punta Gorda Airport is the worst Florida-based airport. 

The experts at FloridaRentals.com have revealed the best and worst airports across Florida. They indexed all 19 Florida-based airports, ranking each destination against 14 factors to receive a score out of 100. Here's how they got the score.

Rankings are based on several factors such as: number of scheduled outbound direct flight destinations, average minutes delay per flight, average minutes delay due to weather, average minutes delay due to security, average minutes delay due to aircraft arriving late, average cost of hotels within 5 miles (for 1 night), and percentage of all operations cancelled. 

I think this study may show more about Allegiant Air than Punta Gorda. Allegiant makes up the bulk of commercial flights in PG.  Skytrax, an online airline review site gives Allegiant a score of 3 out of 10. But, Allegiant is known as an ultra-low cost carrier, so the old adage of "you get what you pay for" comes to mind.

The Punta Gorda Airport has been making some definite improvements. There's now a 40-seat bar with runway views between Gates 2 and 3. There's also a food and beverage counter near gate 1. They also have food trucks in the short term parking lot. Sure, there's always the chance your flight gets delayed, but food trucks and drinking always makes the extra time go by easier. Our guy Pete is flying out of Punta Gorda next month, so we may revisit this.

Also, many of these airports are discussing or are in the middle of big improvements. So they know how busy they are, and they are expanding. A LOT of people are coming to Florida, so airport expansions are happening.

Southwest Florida International in Fort Myers fared much better in the study, ranking in the middle of the pack of Florida airports. So let's see how they stack up.

Ranking in second place is Miami International Airport, scoring 71.52 out of 100. There are 183 scheduled outbound flights from MIA, and 460 hotels within a five-mile radius. A night's stay near MIA costs an average of $180.69 for one night. Miami International Airport also has plans to improve, after recently announcing plans to open a private luxury terminal service for commercial flights in 2025. 

In third place is Tampa International Airport, scoring 69.97 out of 100. With 93 scheduled outbound flights and an average 4 minute and 3 second air carrier delay. There are 274 hotels within a 5-mile radius of TPA, with Booking.com locations averaging 5.89 stars. 

DAB scored a 68.34. Avelo Airlines now flies to Daytona Beach. 

FLL scores a 66.21. The delays back in April were not their fault. You can't fly planes when the runway was flooded. 

MCO scores a 64.24 on this list. They have 3 new parking lots under construction to help alleviate some of the parking issues. 

SRQ scores 63.40 with this list. They had record growth in June and are expanding. They just broke ground on a new terminal back in March. 

Our very own RSW scores 62.28. Also growing. The expanded terminal is expected to be operational in 2025.

JAX scores a 62.16. A new concourse and expanded parking coming in 2025.

GNV scored a 61.70. Silver Airways is the latest addition to this airport. 

This island airport scored a 61.62. The new concourse A should be ready in 2025. 

PNS scored a 59.62. TSA equipment upgrades have been causing delays. That should be done soo, if not already.

TLH scored a 58.26. Tallahassee International Airport  set a record for gun interceptions in 2022, with 15 firearms — 13 of them loaded – being discovered by the TSA. That will slow the line down at security.

PBH scored a 57.75 and we head down towards the bottom of the list. Good news if you're delayed, there's lots to do. An eight-hole putting green and a full spa. 

A 54.89 for this airport. But you get free entertainment.

A 51.27 score. It's a great way to get to the Panama City Beaches. Traffic there is booming and they're planning an expansion to parking, the terminal, and a new holding room for bags. 

This is where the scores really dip. The PIE has a 39.23. Remember that story last week of the extreme turbulence? They were flying to this airport. 

SFB scored a 35.37. This is the one that I thought would be at the bottom. It frequently shows up on the 'worst airports' list. There's a plan to build a connector from State Highway 417 to the Orlando Sanford International Airport. I guess so you can get there quicker for the experience.

Placing bottom of the list is Punta Gorda Airport, scoring 33.84 out of 100. PGD has an average 21 minute 13 second flight delay, and an average 46 minute 24 second delay due to the aircraft arriving late. 28.49% of PGD’s operations are delayed. 

Scam Southwest Florida