First thought that came to mind when I read the recent BBB alert was, “Really? People still fall for this?!?” The answer to that internalized question of course is, yes, they do – in spades.
Phone scams are nothing new, but the lengths criminals will go to never cease to amaze me. What does amaze me is that people still fall for this scam after so many years, so many news reports and so many Institutions’ attempts at education.
So, you’re probably not surprised that a classic phone scam is back in action. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Jamaican fraudsters are allegedly calling consumers across the U.S. pretending to be representatives of the “Acadian BBB in Louisiana.”
The calls reportedly come from a phone number with an "876" area code. The caller may have an accent and claims to work for the BBB. The caller tells the intended victim they’ve won a sweepstakes with a prize of $2million and a Mercedes Benz (when did the BBB start issuing sweepstakes? I want in on that action!). The catch is that the “winner” can't collect the winnings until they pay a fee (Hello! Can you say Advance Fee Fraud?!?).
In addition to collecting personal information to “confirm you are the legitimate winner” (hmm, do I smell Identity Theft?), frequently the fraudster requests banking information to “collect the minor fee for processing the award” which gives criminals access to the victim’s account. In other scenarios the victim is mailed a counterfeit check to cash and wire proceeds overseas before they can collect their bazillion dollars and fancy cars.
Whatever the scam, it’s important to remind everyone that: 1. legitimate “prizes” don’t come with catches like requiring advance fees before you claim your winnings and 2. (say it with me now) If it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.
The BBB (www.bbb.org) offers a lot of suggestions including what to do if you think you discover a scam, tips to detect scams and more. Additionally, you can find great information at the Federal Trade Commissions’ website (www.ftc.gov)