Even the Better Business Bureau isn’t immune to scams. Jim Hegarty, spokesman for the chapter based in Omaha/Council Bluffs, says overseas con artists sent out a mass email to thousands of businesses last week, pretending to represent the BBB and asking companies for all sorts of information.
“It’s not the way we interact,” Hegarty says. “If you haven’t subscribed to a service from us, you’re not going to get an email like that from us and if you do, it’s best just to disregard it, call us directly and ask us if we are indeed trying to engage you.” Scammers are everywhere and it’s becoming easier to fall victim, so
Hegarty says to use extreme caution when you’re dealing with personal information online, especially if money is involved. “If you’re making a transaction that is of any significance online,” Hegarty says, “get offline and make sure you contact the entity directly through a number that you know belongs to them to make sure that if they’re asking you to send money, that it’s legitimate.”
A man in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently lost a bundle by using what appeared to be a legitimate vacation rental website. “Unfortunately, the affiliate website had been hacked by scammers in the Ukraine,” Hagerty says. “They intercepted his interaction so that when he selected a property he wanted to rent up in Copper Mountain for $2,000 for the week, they sent him instructions for where he should wire the money.”
Learn more at the Better Business Bureau website, or by calling the 24-Hour Information Line: 800-222-1600.
