Top 10 scams of 2012 released
Posted January 4, 2012 3:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Crooks are co-opting legitimate businesses to swindle you out of money and steal your information. The Better Business Bureau has released its Top 10 Scams list for 2012 and it includes old and new schemes.
“What we have seen this past year is not too different from what we’ve experienced 100 years ago,” says President Lynda Pasacreta as she stood beside a 1912 BBB warning poster. “But the same key elements remain: advertising claims not adding up to what was promised, businesses with confusing and misleading contracts and overall questionable business practices targeting vulnerable people.”
Number one on this year’s list is Brand Spoofing where scammers send out emails and create websites that appear to be from legitimate companies to make people hand over credit card numbers or personal information.
“Banking institutions, the Canada Revenue Agency, Netflix and even the bureau had the brand-spoof last year.”
Scams targeting the elderly are also still prevalent. “Scammers will approach to wear them down through high-pressure sales tactics. Often people will give out personal or financial information over the phone simply to get out of a difficult situation,” she adds.
Another scam involves power saving claims. The BBB says the switch to smart meters fostered a rise in deceptive ads selling energy conservation devices which consumers bought only to claim they don’t work.
Fraudulent locksmiths, penny auctions and gold buying schemes, virus fixing schemes, advance fee loans and scams using social media round out the list.
Pasacreta adds there are ways to protect yourself from fraud, particularly online. “Look for the secure website when you are going to pay, and that’s that https in the URL and the lock on the far right hand side.”
She also recommends checking in with elderly relatives or friends in case they have been targeted.
“Any of the bogus charities, they come out when there’s a natural disaster, so they work on human emotion, and we keep talking about doing your due diligence, taking your time, choosing the charity you want, putting the anti-software on, shredding,” adds Pasacreta. “There are all kinds of things you can do rather than just getting scared and hiding in a hole.”
She says people may feel ashamed if they are scammed but it’s important to call police and alert the BBB.
