Better Business Bureau: 2017 scams

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- According to the Better Business Bureau, online Purchase scams are the riskiest form of consumer fraud in 2017.

The riskiest scam is determined by monetary loss, exposure, and susceptibility. BBB of central Ohio President Kip Morse said more than 47,000 scams were reported to the BBB. He highly recommended people check out Scam Tracker online to find out what scams are currently going on in your area.

“We’re seeing $200-300 on average for a typical scam loss. The actual dollar value has gone down in terms of how much they’ve been scammed. We’re looking at that as good education, getting the word out, and people are being a little more protective,” said Morse.

Morse said 2017 shows the elderly are no longer the most susceptible. The younger generations have now taken that spot, which has not been seen before.

“So much is coming online so the younger folks, Millennial and Gen X, are going to be online. They’re a little bit quicker with the resources so they’re not taking the opportunity to do the research and we are also seeing just the vast numbers of individuals that are online and seeing these younger individuals, they’re not losing as much money and the older individuals aren’t being approached as much but, they’re losing more money,” said Morse.

Morse suggests that a rule to follow is if it seems to good to be too true, it usually is. He said if you feel something might be a scam look online at BBB.org/scamtracker.