Fighting Fraud
By Better Business Bureau Serving Greater Cleveland
Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) has released their 2023 Scam Tracker Risk Report. This report uses data submitted by consumers to BBB Scam TrackerSM to uncover how scams are being perpetrated, who is being targeted, and which scams have the greatest impact. To better understand which scam types pose the highest risk, BBB Institute assesses risk based on the BBB Risk Index: Exposure x Susceptibility (or likelihood of loss) x Monetary Loss. These three factors help us understand the impact of scams and who is most vulnerable. The Risk Report is a critical part of BBB’s ongoing work to contribute new, useful data and analysis to further the efforts of all who are engaged in combating marketplace fraud.
Investment scams, including those involving cryptocurrency (crypto), are now the riskiest scam type, according to this new report. More than 80 percent of people who were targeted by this scam type reported losing money to BBB Scam TrackerSM. It also had the second-highest median dollar loss at $3,800. Investment scams take many forms, including pressure to purchase, trade, or store digital assets (crypto) with fraudulent exchanges.
Both employment and online purchase scams remained in the top scam reports for 2023. Employment scam reports stayed the second riskiest scam type in 2023 whereas online purchase scams dropped from the riskiest scam type for the first time since 2019, landing in third place. Reports for employment scams increased 54.2% from the year before and had a median dollar loss of $1,995. This is significantly higher than the overall median dollar loss of $100 reported for all scam types. Online purchase scams comprised 41.9% of all scams submitted to BBB Scam Tracker with 82.6% of consumers reporting a monetary loss.
“It’s concerning seeing employment scam and investment scam reports continue to increase,” said Sue McConnell, President & CEO of Better Business Bureau Serving Cleveland. “Not only do consumers lose money but also their time and trust in others. It places victims in a situation that may affect their livelihood because of the sudden, unexpected loss of income or inability to reclaim money from stolen crypto wallets.”
The Northeast Ohio area has not gone without seeing these scams. Recently, the FBI reported a Holmes county man lost $1.3 million in a crypto investment scheme and, last year, a locally based non-profit named “Thrive LGBT” caught BBB’s attention after multiple employees called it a scam and did not receive paychecks.
Other key findings of the report include:
- Scams perpetrated online continued to grow, making up 68.4% of all reports. More concerning, online scams were more likely to result in a reported monetary loss than scams perpetrated in person or via phone.
- The United States Postal Service was the most impersonated organization. This is a change from previous years when Publisher’s Clearing House and Amazon topped the list.
- For the second year in a row, people ages 18-24 reported the highest median dollar loss of all age groups ($155).
- The percentage of people who reported engaging with a scammer via social media rose 63.8% from 2022 to 2023.
- Credit cards remained the most reported payment method with a monetary loss, followed by bank account debit and online payment systems. Reports of bank account debit with a monetary loss increased 66.4%.
- Employment scams were No. 1 riskiest for ages 18-44. Online/cryptocurrency scams were No. 1 riskiest for ages 45+.
For more highlights fromthe 2023 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, visit BBBMarketplaceTrust.org/RiskReport. Go toBBB.org/ScamTrackerto report a scam, learn more about other risky scams onBBB.org/ScamTipsand visit ournews feed.
Better Business Bureau recommends individuals report scams, regardless of whether or not they have lost money, to BBB.org/ScamTracker. These reports can help others avoid falling victim to fraud. Have additional questions? Reach out to your BBB at 216.241.7678 or [emailprotected]. Have a scam to report? Report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker.
