Don't be tricked by the scammers: National Top 10 Scams of 2016

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has compiled a list of National Top 10 Scams of 2016. BBB revealed that Canadians lost more in 2016 than in the previous two years. Canadians lost more than $90 million to scammers last year alone. The scams range from fake employment and online dating to misleading reviews.

In a March 1 press release, Ashley Casselman, communications manager of BBB serving Western Ontario said there’s been a change since 2015, with the fact that the Canada Revenue Agency Tax Scam, which was the biggest scam of that year, has been in decline.

“A call centre in India was raided and the dreaded Canada Revenue Agency Tax Scam dropped off dramatically,” Casselman said. “While the numbers for that scam remain down, it has not gone away entirely.”

The purpose of the scams campaign is to create awareness so people will be aware of these scams and they can avoid being tricked by scammers.

According to Casselman, the BBB has an online “scam tracker” resource tool where people can check to see if what they believe to be a scam is indeed one, and they can then report it to the BBB.

Results are gathered from the BBB’s scam tracker, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and concerns from sponsors and community partners.

Below are the top 10 scams listed by BBB:

1. Employment scams

2. Online dating scams

3. Identity fraud

4. Advance fee loans

5. Online purchase scams

6. Wire fraud (spear-phishing)

7. Binary option scams

8. Fake lottery winnings

9. Canada Revenue Agency Scam

10. Fake online endorsements

“BBB derived much of the information from our new web page, BBB Scam Tracker,” Casselman added. “While we have focused on these 10 scams, there have been nearly 50,000 scams reported across North America since 2015.”

“The positive take away right now, is that there appears to be more reporting going on which would explain some of the increase in money lost,” Casselman said in the release. “But at the end of the day it still only represents at most five per cent of what was actually taken from Canadians.”

According to Casselman, even with these numbers to report back to, there is still more work that needs to be done and more awareness raised and more reporting to explore.

“Don’t be ashamed, let someone know if you’ve been scammed,” Casselman said.

According to Casselman, the best way for the people to avoid these scams is by changing their passwords to online accounts regularly.

Casselman said the BBB will hold its second annual National BBB Password Day event on March 15, which encourages Canadians to change their passwords, help protect their online presence and avoid scams.

If people spot a business or offer that sounds like an illegal scheme or fraud, they can contact the BBB at bbb.org/scamtracker