Shelley Polansky
Last month, BBB released the annual Scam Tracker Risk Report and scams related to employment ranked #1. The report is based on data supplied by consumers to BBB Scam TrackerSM (BBB. org/ScamTracker) and is based on the BBB Risk Index, a unique algorithm that calculates exposure, susceptibility, and monetary loss to offer a more accurate assessment of scam risk.
The ten riskiest scams of 2018 were: employment, online purchase, fake checks/money orders, home improvement, advance fee loans, romance, tech support, investment, travel/vacation, and government grant.
This year marked the first time since BBB began this annual report that one scam dominated across so many demographic subgroups. Employment scams were the riskiest scam in three of the six age groups, and for both men and women. It was also the riskiest scam for military families and veterans, and students.
Digging into the Risk Report shows one possible answer: Amazon was in the news a lot in 2018 with its high profile search for a second headquarters. It was also the 6th most impersonated organization mentioned in BBB Scam Tracker reports, after not even making the top 15 in previous years. In 2017, only 24 BBB Scam Tracker reports were employment scams that mentioned Amazon. In 2018, that jumped to 564.
Employment scams are particularly egregious because they prey on people who are already feeling pinched and may be desperate for work. If the scam gets far enough, scammers collect the same information that real employers do – address, birth date, Social Security number, bank account – everything needed for identity theft.
Our entire Scam Tracker Risk Report is available to read online at bbb.org/RiskReport. If you encounter a scam, report it to BBB at bbb.org/ScamTracker.
~ Shelley Polansky, VP Communications, BBB Serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming.