Riskiest scams of 2017

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the National Consumer Protection Week. It’s a week to help the public understand their consumer rights and the best way to make decisions with their personal security. The Better Business Bureau and several other agencies are here to help.

Online purchasing and impersonation scams have become the riskiest type of consumer fraud, according to the BBB. In 2017 alone, people in the U.S. reported more than 45,000 scams to the BBB scam tracker.

In Idaho, there were nearly 1,000 scams. People reported over $600,000 lost to scammers.

This past week, Eastern Idaho has been affected by several scams. Whether it’s getting a call from someone using the Jefferson County Probation Office phone number or someone claiming to be Idaho Falls Power or Idaho Power.

Impersonation scams have become no joke.

“They’re contacted by phone or email and they’re impersonating big agencies,” Jeremy Johnson, the Eastern Idaho Marketplace Manager for the Better Business Bureau, said. “Like the IRS, the government, or ourselves.”

The BBB says impersonation scams is a huge way scammers can get to you.

“You can get apps and a variety of ways to change your number to show a different number,” said Johnson.

According to the BBB, these were the top 10 riskiest scams of 2017:

Online purchase scam (up from #4 in 2016) Investment scam (up from #6 in 2016) Employment scam (no change) Advance fee loan scam (up from #5 in 2016) Fake check scam (down from #2 in 2016) Home improvement scam (down from #1 in 2016) Tech support scam (up from #8 in 2016) Travel/vacation scam (new to top 10, #12 in 2016) Family/friend emergency scam (no change) Government grant scam (new to top 10, #11 in 2016)

We saw online purchasing scams move up 3 spots because of it’s increased exposure. We also saw home improvement scams fall from number 1 to number 6. The BBB believes this is because of the increased information from media and consumer protection groups.

The two most susceptible groups to fall victims to these scams are young people and the elderly.

The BBB says young people are getting out and doing things for the first time. They don’t know if a a company should be contacting you and saying or asking certain things.

Older people are targeted by ‘spoofers’ because they call impersonate their grandchildren by getting information off of Facebook. Older age groups also come with a higher average monetary loss.

BBB If you feel uncertain about whoever is calling you, always double check. Try calling the organization themselves, or go into their office and pay in person. They also say never give a company or organization any personal information over the phone. If they ask for PayPal or any type of wire transfers, that should be a huge red flag.

Often times when scams happen people might feel embarrassed, but the better business bureau encourages anyone who has been scammed to report it. The BBB calls scam victims “Heroes” for helping to report and stop these scams from happening to others.

You can report any report any scam at BBB.org/ScamTracker. For more information on specific scams and tips on how to avoid them, go to BBB.org/ScamTips.