Better Business Bureau seeing rise in scams

MISSOURI — The Better Business Bureau is reporting a rise in online scams.

The BBB says those 18 to 24 years old are seeing the highest jump in online scams. One Missouri victim I spoke to says there were red flags when she was trying to buy a puppy online.

Alyssa Hertel, Puppy Scam Victim, said, “We came across this website where of course its such beautiful German Shepard puppies so I signed up.”

Alyssa Hertel was searching the internet for a new addition to her family. She found a website selling puppies for $599 in Pennsylvania. They told her for an extra $120 they would have a nanny bring the puppy to her home.

“That’s where I kind of questioned everything and by this point I wasn’t for sure if it was a scam or if it was real because I never heard of a nanny puppy service. So I looked up online and I found a couple things that were alarming and then I started asking more questions.”

She says that’s when she reported it to the Better Business Bureau.

“Look up the website you’re using and a lot of times people have already reported that so that’s a good telling factor and then just ask a lot of questions.”

The BBB analyzed 46,000 reports and found younger Americans aged 18 to 24 years old were losing the most money from online purchase scams. The BBB says victims lost on average $750 from pet scams. They say younger consumers are falling for fake check scams because they don’t know what a real check looks like.

Stephanie Garland, BBB Regional Director, said, “There’s a lack of awareness on how to recognize what a real check is. So whenever they get a check in the mail they think its legitimate and they’re going to follow through with whatever the instructions are. Whether it’s a car wrap scam, whether its an employment job, and whether they’re going to work for free.”

The BBB says if you get a check in the mail and suspect its fake look for spelling, punctuation and other errors.

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