Scam Tracker finds four popular Scams

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Scams are everywhere and people should know what scams are in their general area.

So the Better Business Bureau Of Central Ohio is helping folks to do just that. President, Kip Morse said they encourage people to check out their Scam Tracker to find out what the scams are in their area.

“You’re hearing it first hand from consumers that put that information in,” Morse said. “You can see who’s losing money and how much money. Then that information we utilize to one get the word out as to what’s going on in the community and two get the word out to the law enforcement. So that they have a  good idea of where the scams are coming from.”

According to Morse the Scam Tracker is a heat map where people can zoom in and see what scams are effecting each area. This month the Scam Tracker detected four popular scams. The Government Grant scam is the top scam.

“Somebody gives you and says you can be the recipient of a $9,000 government grant and you need to pay $250 up front to get the first $4,500 and then $250 for the second $4,500,” said Morse.

The three other scams are The Grandparent Scam, The Technology Scams, and The Romance Scam. The Grandparent Scam is where someone calls a person and pretends to be their grandchild so they can ask for money. The Technology Scams are where someone calls or a message comes up on your computer saying the computer is malfunctioning and they need personal information to fix it. The Romance Scam is where someone with a fake page and identity targets someone actually looking for a relationship and after they build a trust with the one targeted they’ll ask for money.

The red flags for each scam is money is asked up front and typically the people target are asked to wire money so it’s untraceable. For more information on the scam tracker and or scams go to the Better Business Bureau Of Central Ohio’s website bbb.org/centralohio.