Jim Winsett of the BBB. Q. How does BBB suggest consumers recognize scam and fraudsters?
A. Things are not always what they seem. Certainly during the trick-or-treating season we’re used to the charmingly disguised characters that come to our door. But throughout all the year’s seasons, there are those who seek to fool consumers with much more malevolent purposes.
They come costumed in many disguises: As agencies of the federal government, local law enforcement, tech support from computer companies, our utility companies, our financial institutions, disaster relief charities, sellers on Craigslist, well known department stores, the list goes on and on.
All are masked in order to steal consumers’ money. Your Better Business Bureau has advice for how to avoid becoming another victim to imposter scammers of these sorts.
We can report one shutdown of a scam call center. There are few of us who have not encountered the IRS legal action scam. It works like this: A phone caller posing as an agent with the IRS notifies you that there are serious problems with your tax return. Payment is demanded and legal action threatened. According to the IRS, more than 5,000 people have been victimized by this scam and more than $26 million has been lost to it.