Baldwin County residents report increase in scams for 2021

Staff Report
Posted 2/4/22

MOBILE — Baldwin County residents reported a significant increase in scams and total losses in 2021, according to data compiled by the Better Business Bureau's scam tracker.

A total of 48 …

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Baldwin County residents report increase in scams for 2021

Posted

MOBILE — Baldwin County residents reported a significant increase in scams and total losses in 2021, according to data compiled by the Better Business Bureau's scam tracker.

A total of 48 scams were reported in Baldwin County in 2021 compared to 33 in 2020 with total losses of more than $17,000, nearly triple the amount reported in 2020 of just under $5,800.

Baldwin County followed a nationwide and statewide trend in 2021, with 12 online purchase scams accounting for 25 percent of scams reported with total losses of nearly $1,300.

"It's not a surprising statistic," said Monde Donaldson, vice president of BBB Serving Central and South Alabama's Education Foundation. "I think it's just a matter of people accessing online more and being more susceptible to those type of scams."

Online purchases accounted for 33 percent of the scams reported in 2020 with 11, but with nearly $2,300 in losses reported.

There were five tech support scams reported in 2021, while phishing, home improvement and COVID-19 scams accounting for three each.

Statewide, product shortages and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were contributing factors for the increase, according to a release issued by the BBB serving Central and South Alabama (BBB CSAL), with more than 500 scams reported by consumers to the BBB's scam tracker, representing a nearly 15 % increase over 2020 in reported scams.

While the number of scams increased from 2020 to 2021, the amount of money reported lost to scams dropped more than $50,000 from 2020 to 2021.

"While it hurts to see the high number of scams reported to us, it means that consumers recognize the signs of a scam, and the decrease in reported money lost means that they are cutting off communication with scammers before it gets to the point of losing money," said Alex Derencz, communication manager with BBB CSAL.

Online purchase scams were the most reported, accounting for more than 30 percent of total scams.

"Online purchase scams are one of the top scams that plague consumers year after year," Derencz said. "The popularity of online shopping continues to rise since many have turned to it as a necessity in the age of COVID-19. Scammers take note of that and take advantage of the shift in consumer behavior."

Employment scams have been on the rise since the job market has been impacted by the pandemic, Derencz said. Some of the most common forms of employment scams are individuals seeking employment online and communicating with potential employers online.

Phishing scams refer to an attempt to try and obtain personal and sensitive information from a person using communication such as text messages, phone calls and emails.

The sender claims to be from a business or organization such as a phone provider or financial institution. They try to create a sense of urgency and intimidation to get the person to divulge personal information or download material, which can add malware to the person's device.

Other scams reported included debt collection scams, counterfeit products, tech support scams, identity theft, sweepstakes/lottery prizes, fake check/money order, and fake invoice/supplier bill.

Tips to avoid scams provided by the BBB CSAL include:

• Be cautious with emails and texts. Watch out for unsolicited emails from individuals who claim to be from an organization such as your bank. Never click on links or open attachments in unsolicited texts or emails. If you receive a text message that claims to be from a bank or other organization, do not click on it or open it. Call them directly.

• Never send money to strangers. Reserve using peer-to-peer payments methods like Venmo and CashApp between you and people you are close with. Sending money via peer-to-peer payment methods and prepaid debit cards is untraceable and can be tough to get back.

• Do research before making online purchases or payments. Before buying something online or making an online payment, make sure the retailer or site is secure, has contact information, a physical address and much more information.

• Use your best judgment when sharing personal information. Sharing things such as birth dates, account numbers and other sensitive information is essentially handing your identity over to someone to steal.

• Be social media smart. Make sure you have privacy settings turned on and that you never share any personal or sensitive information on social media.

If you think you have seen an offer that does not seem right, report it to scam tracker at BBB.org/ScamTracker.