SEBRING — State Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson is warning people about a new attempt to get personal information or money with a claim to help people get a tax rebate from the federal government. "If you receive a phone call or e-mail with a promise of assistance in getting a check, hang up on the caller or delete the e-mail," Bronson said. Paul Hinman with the Highlands County Sheriff's Crime Prevention Unit said Tuesday he personally has not gotten any local complaints on this new twist to the various IRS scams out there. ...more

February 11, 2008

A former Girl Scout leader was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Thursday for stealing her troop members' Social Security numbers and using them in a tax-fraud scheme. ...more

January 25, 2008

A former county employee who acknowledged a role in a scheme that helped scores of illegal immigrants secure driver's licenses was sentenced Tuesday to two years and three months in federal prison and then three years of supervision. ...more

January 23, 2008

TAMPA - A former Hillsborough County employee who admitted a role in a scheme that helped scores of illegal immigrants secure driver's licenses was sentenced this morning to two years and three months in federal prison and then three years of supervision. ...more

January 22, 2008

The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007. The trend isn't expected to turn around anytime soon as hackers stay a step ahead of security and laptops disappear with sensitive information. ...more

December 31, 2007

The theft of nearly $126,000 in federal rent subsidies involved more than the manipulation of the Tampa Housing Authority's computer system, housing officials said Thursday. ...more

December 14, 2007

SARASOTA — A telephone scam that targets residents of Sarasota County is playing on the fear of arrest, authorities said. ...more

December 13, 2007

Imagine you are a teenage foster child who has been in the system so long you have little or no memory of your biological parents. ...more

December 4, 2007

SEBRING — IRS scams are rearing their ugly heads again in Highlands County, according to Nell Hays of the sheriff's crime prevention unit. There have been several cases reported again of people pretending to be with the Internal Revenue Service. "They're telling people they have a problem with their tax return," said Hays. They ask them for personal information such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers, their date of birth, driver's license numbers and bank account numbers. "I think this person received a letter," Hays said. "Any time a request such as that is received it should be checked out with extreme caution." ...more

November 11, 2007

A former county employee filed a plea agreement Tuesday admitting her role in a fraud scheme that authorities say helped scores of illegal immigrants secure false driver's licenses. ...more

November 7, 2007