The Riskiest Scams of the Year (Getty)
For National Consumer Protection Week (March 5 – 11), the Better Business Bureau released its long-awaited Scam Tracker Risk Report.
Steve J. Bernas, president, and CEO of The Better Business Bureau of Chicago & Northern Illinois, says the Scam Tracker Risk Report is a precise look at the danger levels of scams. “It measures the riskiest scams based on susceptibility, the percentage of people who lose money when exposed to a scam, and the median dollar loss. It’s estimated BBB Scam Tracker saved consumers $21. 2 million in 2022 by alerting people before they became victims.“
There have been some eye-opening changes, and the new report shows that online purchase scams remained the #1 riskiest scam type, and employment scams are now the second riskiest. Employment scam reports submitted to BBB Scam Tracker increased 23.1 percent from 2021 to 2022. The median dollar loss of $1,500 for employment scams is significantly higher than that of $171 for all scam types. The riskiest scam type varied among age groups, ranking employment scams as #1 riskiest for ages 18 to 34.
“Employment scams, which peaked at #1 on our list in 2019, are seeing a resurgence,” said Melissa Lanning Trumpower, executive director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, which produced the 2022 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report. “This is a high-touch scam in which perpetrators spend more time with their targets in the hope of stealing more money from each target. Employment scams tied for the highest median dollar loss of all scam types. Home improvement scams, #4 on our list of riskiest scams, also had a median dollar loss of $1,500.”
Romance scams reappeared on the list this year, rising from #14 in 2021 to #7 in 2022 because of increased reports and a higher median dollar loss.
Bernas adds, “Other key findings in the report include, for the first time, the top scammed group is the 18–24-year-old demographic. Also, consumers beware: text message scams increased 39.6 percent, up from 12.7 percent in 2022.”
The 2022 riskiest scams in the nation:
#1 – Online purchasing
#2 – Employment
#3 – Cryptocurrency
#4 – Home Improvement
#5 – Advance Loan
#6 – Investment Scams
#7– Romance
#8 – Government Grants
#9 – Phishing
#10 – Tech Support
BBB SCAM TRACKER RESOURCES
For more highlights from the 2022 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, visit BBBMarketplaceTrust.org/RiskReport.
The five most-impersonated organizations reported to BBB Scam Tracker in 2022:
Amazon, Geek Squad, Publishers Clearing House, U.S. Postal Service and Norton.
A list of the top 15 is provided in the report.
Go to BBB.org/ScamTracker to report a scam, learn more about other risky scams on BBB.org/ScamTips and visit our news feed.