BBB Analyzed 80 Scam Tracker Reports from July

The Better Business Bureau analyzed 80 Scam Tracker reports from July of this year to shed a spotlight on scams.

The primary means of exposure to scams was through the internet, although the highest dollar amount lost by a single individual was through text messages.

The two most common scams include:

1. Employment:

One consumer filed a scam tracker report after she lost $38,000 to an employment scam. She received a text from a scammer, calling himself “David Lucas,” offering her the “opportunity to wrap [her] car for Lays Potato Chips.” Once she agreed, David Lucas asked her to send cash and money orders totalling $38,000 to addresses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Indiana to pay for the car wraps but left her and her bank account vulnerable. BBB offers the following tips for those contacted about employment opportunities like wrapping your car: https://www.bbb.org/article/tips/12261-bbb-tip-employment-scams

2. Fake Website Scam:

An Ohio consumer had her business phone number listed on a scam website. She contacted BBB after realizing a website called “KOLOOM” had been using her “business phone number on their website.” She realized this was an issue when she kept receiving “80 calls a day from contractors who paid for cheap Nikita saws.” Since COVID-19 started, BBB has seen an increase in phony websites popping up. More on that can be found here: https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/22205-bbb-alert-phony-websites-popping-up-during-covid-19-crisis

Consumers are encouraged to report scams to BBB Scam Tracker: https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker