Last year, your BBB received over 23,000 complaints from consumers who felt they were taken advantage of by a business. Those looking for jobs, struggling to make money or get out of debt were the most common targets of scammers, hackers and deceptive businesses in 2010. In alphabetical order, here are the scams with the highest volume of complaints and inquiries throughout the past year:
Advance Fee Loan Scams - Victims are told they qualify for large loans but must pay a large upfront fee. The victim wires money to the scammers, but never receives the loan expected.
Debt Relief Services - Complaints to BBB regarding debt relief companies increased 30% in 2010. These companies often require upfront fees in order to substantially lower a consumer’s debt, but many times services were never performed and consumers’ debt increased.
Door to Door Home Repair/Roofers - Salesman or traveling workers failed to deliver on promises to fix roofs or conduct other work to consumer’s homes. Specifically, complaints against roofing companies increased by roughly 40 percent in 2010.
“Free” Trial Offers – Online ads for free diet supplements, penny auctions and money making schemes resulted in thousands of complaints in 2010. The free trial offers seem to be legitimate, but consumers complained they were billed monthly after the trial ended and found it extremely difficult to cancel.
Identity Theft – 10 million consumers every year are victims of identity theft. Low-tech theft, phishing emails, smishing text messages and even corporate data breaches resulted in personal information being stolen.
Job Hunter Scams – Victims told BBB scammers posted employment opportunities in an attempt to gain access to personal information, such as bank account and social security numbers. In addition, requirements to pay an advance fee in order to be considered for the job are common with job scams.
Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams – Victims receive a letter in the mail or phone call from someone pretending to be with Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Clearing House or a phony foreign lottery. The scammer claims the victim has won millions, but must first wire hundreds or even thousands of dollars back to the scammers to cover taxes or some other bogus fee. The victim wires the money, but the prize never arrives.
Over-Payment Scams - These scams typically target sellers on classifieds or websites like Craigslist. The scammers overpay the amount for the service or product and ask the victim to wire the extra amount back to them. Ultimately, the check is forged and the victim is out the money wired back to the scammers.
Timeshare Resellers - Timeshare owners who are desperate to get rid of their costly vacation property are contacted by companies claiming to have an eager buyer. The company tells the seller they just have to pay up to several thousand dollars to cover fees. After paying the fees, the seller never hears from the company again.
Work from Home Schemes – Whether it is learning the secrets to making money online or getting paid to be a mystery shopper, work-at-home scams are common. Many complaints filed with BBB alleged that consumers lost hundreds or thousands of dollars paying upfront for work materials instead of getting paid.