BBB uses awareness to fight scammers

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This article was published 29/05/2017 (3209 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Dog scam has disappointed pet owners howling,” reads a CBC Manitoba headline.

The story goes that three people recently fell victim to an online scam that hit them with extra charges and never delivered the pups they had arranged to adopt. Each victim lost between $400 and $1,000, according to the article.

Scams like this happen every day. But only sometimes do they make the news. Many others happen without warning and without any obvious signs that something may be fishy.

Consider this one:

A receptionist received a fax which appeared to be from Yellow Pages. It listed her company’s phone number but had too many digits. So the receptionist corrected the error, signed the fax and sent it back. A month later, her business received a bill for $92.

The small print at the bottom of the fraudulent fax read that signing and returning the form entered the signatory into contract to pay $92 a month for the next two years.

This scam didn’t make the news but it was noted on Scam Tracker, an operation of the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

The BBB regularly receives alerts about fraudulent phone calls, emails, and faxes, investigates them, then posts them on its website so more people don’t fall victim to the same scams. The BBB operates Scam Tracker throughout Canada and the United States. To access the local Scam Tracker, visit www.bbb.org/scamtracker/manitoba .  

People who’ve received questionable emails or phone calls can search the Scam Tracker database to see if others have reported similar situations. Scam Tracker categorizes reports by key words so searchers can quickly find similar scams.

Scammers tend to target one area for a short period of time, then change their fake company name and move to a new area. The BBB helps track this, then lets locals in affected areas know of the scams currently in their communities. The BBB does this via press releases and posts on its website, bbb.org/Manitoba.  

Consumers can also call the BBB if they feel uncertain about a transaction, proposition, or phone call they received. The BBB is a trusted source with a lot of information on current scams and scam trends.

“It’s difficult for people to recover money they’ve lost through a scam, so it’s important people stay vigilant, check the BBB website, and check with us before they give away personal information to an organization they don’t know,” said Len Andrusiak, president and chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau serving Manitoba and Northwest Ontario.

For updates on BBB news and info follow on Twitter and Facebook  @bbbmanitoba  or E: connect@manitoba.bbb.org