Every year the BBB investigates thousands of scams.  A review of the 2012 BBB files reveals scam artists were busier than ever, utilizing modern technology to trick and defraud people into parting with their hard-earned money.  “Every day southeast Texans fall victim to scams and frauds”, states BBB Dispute Resolution Director, Jay Sheppard.  “It happens in more ways than you can imagine and consumers need to be extra-cautious as these smooth-talking, unscrupulous criminals continue to improve their methods.”

Unfortunately, our top scam of the year targeted Senior Citizens who put their trust in the wrong person which resulted in the…

Syam Tax Scam -This scam spread like wildfire as recruiters enlisted by Syam Tax Services canvassed churches for elderly victims receiving Social Security or disability benefits. The victims were told that they might be eligible to receive a cash benefit under a federal stimulus funds program.  They trusted the familiar face who recruited them and filled out a form providing their driver’s license, Social Security and bank account numbers to Syam’s recruiters in order to receive the benefits.  Then, without the victim’s knowledge, Syam subsequently prepared and filed a fraudulent tax return in their name.  Once word spread that some were receiving direct deposits into their bank accounts, more and more innocent victims fell for the fraudulent scheme.  For those barely scraping by, the money was like a miracle and was spent by the time that learned that they had been duped.   Once the victims were told that the money had to be paid back and that there may be fines and penalties, sheer panic spread and the BBB began receiving even more calls from those desperate for help.  If you, or someone you know, fell victim to the Syam Tax Tax Scam, contact the BBB at 409-835-5348 or 855-BBBSETX for immediate assistance.

Collection Scam -A fake debt collector calls the victim seeking payment on a debt or loan that the victim does not recognize, often refusing to provide a mailing address or phone number. The caller asks for personal information and exerts high pressure to try to scare the victim into paying, such as threatening to have the victim arrested or report them to a law enforcement agency.

Brand Spoofing -Brand spoofing also known as phishing is a general term for e-mail, text messages and websites fabricated and sent by criminals and designed to look like they come from well-known and trusted businesses, financial institutions and government agencies in an attempt to collect personal, financial and sensitive information.  If the recipient follows the link provided and connects with the fraudulent website, any information entered into the data fields (account #, PIN, contact information, social security number etc.) could be recorded, collected and used for fraudulent purposes.

Publishers Clearing House Scam -Consumers received notification that they had won a big prize.  They were told that they needed to pay money to claim the prize.  Unfortunately, theses messages were Publishers Clearing House scams and NOT from the real Publishers Clearing House.  

Grandparent Scam -The perpetrator often calls a grandparent or other relative pretending to be the grandchild/niece/nephew, etc.   The caller sounds upset and typically states there are only a few moments to talk. The caller may say that they have a cold if you don’t quite recognize the voice, or cue-in on feedback from the call to sound even more convincing (scam victims often report being sure they were talking to their actual relative, but it’s a clever trick!).  Their story generally follows a familiar line:  they were traveling in another country with a friend, and after a car accident or legal infraction, they are in jail and need bail money wired to a Western Union account as soon as possible for their quick release.  Sums can vary up to several thousand dollars and over the course of two three calls.  In some instances, a second scammer, calls back later pretending to be a law enforcement official or attorney, to confirm the story or ask for additional money.

Advance Fee Loans -Consumers have reported losing substantial sums of money responding to advertisements that“guarantee”loans to people, often online. Consumers complete credit applications and are told the loan (from $5,000 to $100,000) has been approved and the promised funds will be received once a fee is paid. After payment, the loan is never received as promised. 

Check Cashing Scam -Two legitimate companies, Craig’s List and Western Union – are used for an inordinate amount of scamming these days, and especially check cashing scams. Here’s how it works: Someone contacts you via a Craig’s List posting, maybe for a legitimate reason like buying your old couch or perhaps through a scam like hiring you as a secret shopper. Either way, they send you a check for more than the amount they owe you, and they ask you to deposit it into your bank account and then send them the difference via Western Union. A deposited check takes a couple of days to clear, whereas wired money is gone instantly. When the original check bounces, you are out whatever money you wired…and you’re still stuck with the old couch.

Work At Home Scam -Rising unemployment this year has prompted many people to grasp at work at home opportunities with the hopes of producing income.  One of the most popular scams is to require the job seeker to pay a fee in order to even be considered for a job.  Other scams attempt to gain access to personal information such as a bank account or social security numbers, under the guise of somehow evaluating a potential employee. 

Foreign Lottery/Sweepstakes -Scammers used false information to convince consumers they had won millions of dollars in a non-existent lottery or sweepstakes. In most cases, victims were required to wire hundreds or thousands of dollars back to the scammers - supposedly to cover taxes or other bogus fees. Often times the scammers posed as legitimate organizations by hijacking their logos and/or hacking into caller ID to make it appear calls were coming from legitimate organizations.

Payday Loans -Loan brokers are near the top of the BBBs' list of most-asked-about businesses. Callers requesting information on these questionable promotions placed more than 80,000 calls to BBBs nationwide. Consumers and small businesses continue to lose large sums of money to fraudulent loan brokers. These so-called loan brokers advertise in the newspaper classifieds hoping to attract financially vulnerable consumers or business owners with the promise of guaranteed, low-interest loans to consolidate or pay off debts and clean-up credit records.

Let's make 2013 the year that consumer's wisely research companies at www.bbb.org  before giving out their personal information and hard-earned money.  For more information on these scams and others, go to BBB Scam Source www.bbb.org/scam.  Sign up for our Scam Alerts and learn about new scams as soon as we do.