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If you use social media, you see it every day. Puppies or kittens offered for free with a small rehoming fee. Or breeders saying they need to find homes for a recent litter. You are scrolling through Facebook and adorable photos of puppies pop up that need a home. Maybe one of your friends inadvertently shared the information. However, the person isn’t local. Beware, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, warns the Better Business Bureau.
In the local region, so far in 2022, it’s scams like this that have cost consumers nearly $10,000. Once potential pet owners send money to these so-called breeders, communication is cut off.
“They will email you saying the puppy you picked is available and will fly the puppy to the airport nearest your home,” said a Wise County puppy scam victim. “You answer all these questions about the dog and give them your address, and they are so nice. Once you send money through Zelle, you would receive the flight details on your dog. I never received any information. I never heard back from the guy and never received my money back from my bank. I lost $900.”
Tactics used by scammers have shifted drastically during the past several years, with scams being perpetrated online rising 87 percent since 2015, according to a new report published by the Better Business Bureau.
The new report, Start With Trust® Online: BBB Online Scams Report, analyzes the changes in how scams are being perpetrated, including new information about impersonation and online purchase scams.
So far in 2022, scams perpetrated online are more prevalent (55 percent) than other delivery methods, with a higher percentage of people losing money when targeted (75 percent). The scam type with a monetary loss most often reported beginning online was online purchase scams at 89 percent.
The number one place people reported being targeted by a scam was while browsing social media (25 percent), following by online shopping (24 percent), email (14 percent), search engine (10 percent) and job search (7 percent).
Fifty-four percent of survey respondents said the scammer claimed to be from a legitimate organization to perpetrate the scam. People who lost money to a scam were almost twice as likely as those who avoided losing money to say the scammer used impersonation as a tactic.
Online purchase scams continued to be the most reported scam type to BBB Scam Tracker in 2022, making up 30 percent of all scams reported, with more than 71 percent reporting a monetary loss.
How and where you search, research and conduct transactions may impact your susceptibility to online scams.
For more highlights from the BBB Online Scams Report, visit BBBMarketplaceTrust.org/OnlineScams
Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of “Viewpoints,” a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show. Her work on “Virginia Tonight” earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.
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