The Better Business Bureau's list of most-common scams for 2011 has its own name at the top.
The BBB estimates that millions of consumers were affected by the BBB phishing scam during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, said Joan Coughlin, spokeswoman for the Central Ohio BBB.
The scam email used a fake BBB address and logo to con consumers into opening a complaint resolution request. When they did, a virus was downloaded onto the unsuspecting consumers' computers, designed to steal personal and financial information, Coughlin said.
"They looked legitimate, and we got inundated with calls from around the country," she said. "We're working with federal law-enforcement officials to trace the sources of the emails and have worked with investigators to shut them down."
Among the other top 10 scams last year: social-media schemes; fake job offers; phony home-improvement offers; counterfeit checks; sham debt-relief offers; and bogus lottery claims.
"The scams have become more sophisticated as scammers used the struggling economy and current events to devise scams to exploit consumers," she said. "The scams typically target individuals already under financial stress with sound-alike government or nonprofit agencies to con consumers into thinking they are real," Coughlin said.
The BBB isn't the only group taking scam complaints. Law enforcement is, too.
In fact, 552 complaints of some type of scam involving the Internet were made by Ohioans last month, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Of those complaints, 236 victims reported some amount of monetary loss, with 108 of those topping $1,000, said Harry Trombitas, special agent with the FBI's Columbus field office.
"The majority of the reported scams involved the nondelivery of merchandise," he said in an email. "Simply, people who make purchases involving the Internet often fall prey to unscrupulous individuals who hide behind the anonymity associated with non-face-to-face purchases."
Coughlin said while more consumers are becoming aware of scams, some still fall for them because they've become more sophisticated.
"And many scams are underreported as some victims are too embarrassed or don't take time to file a complaint," she said.
Some scams are more prevalent but don't claim as many victims or take as much money.
"Other scams are less prevalent, but when they do work, take thousands of dollars from consumers," she said.
To avoid falling prey, consumers should exercise due diligence, said Internet safety expert Matt Curtin.
Curtin, who founded Columbus-based Interhack Corp., said before engaging in any kind of transaction, consumers should not be rushed. They should question things they don't understand and verify they're in contact with the person or group they think they're talking to, and not a fake.
That means not following a link in an email but independently looking up a website or calling a phone number to verify an individual's or group's authenticity.
"The ease and low expense involved in reaching a large number of people online makes the avenue an attractive one" for scams, he said.
tturner@dispatch.com
Top scams
--BBB phishing scam: Clicking on an official-looking email triggers a download of a virus that can steal personal information.
--Job scams: Fake but official-looking emails, websites and telephone interviews offer a job but request credit and bank information.
--Sweepstakes and lottery scams: Consumers are told they've won money but must cash a check and send a portion to collect the prize.
--Social-media scam: Using information on the Internet, scammers offer a link that when clicked on downloads a virus that logs into social media accounts, sends similar messages to the consumer's contacts and searches for personal information.
--Home-improvement scam: Construction workers, typically after a natural disaster or storm, contact consumers with offers to fix damage at their home but perform shoddy and expensive work.
--Check-cashing scam: These often are tied to Craigslist purchases, with the buyer sending a larger check than is required and then asking the seller to cash what turns out to be a bogus check and wiring the difference back to the buyer.
--Phishing scam: Fake emails or phone calls designed to get consumers to click links that download malware to their computers or get consumers to unwittingly provide personal financial information.
--Identity-theft scam: A hotel patron is called by someone claiming to be the hotel front desk, saying it needs to confirm the consumer's credit-card number, which the scammer then uses to fraudulently make purchases.
--Financial scam: Strapped consumers are offered help getting out of debt --for a fee --but don't receive any help.
--Sales scam: An online auction offers items for sale cheaply but requires a fee to bid. If a consumer doesn't win the bid, he is still out money.
Source: BBB
