GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Reports from the Better Business Bureau show that scammers were hard at work in 2018.
The online self-reporting portal Scamtracker shows the story of Wisconsin scams that took place last year.
Susan Bach, of the Better Business Bureau says the top scam reported is not surprising.
“The number one online scam that we are hearing about is people making online purchases.”
She says that makes sense based on people’s online habits.
“More and more people are shopping online than they ever have been before so they are more vulnerable and supseptical to scammers.”
219 online purchase scams were reported while Phishing came in second with 106.
“So they are being contacted by someone who is pretending to be someone else to get information from that person.”
She says that includes law enforcement, government agencies, and businesses.
Bach says in both cases, the victims are not targeted.
“Scammers are just randomly selecting emails and phone numbers and are sending out a massive number of emails in a phishing attack.”
She says that means it can be very difficult to prevent.
2018 Scamtracker Scams
1. Online Purchases- 219
2. Phishing- 106
3. Tax Collection- 86
4. Tech Support- 80
5. Sweepstakes/ Lottery Prizes- 69
6. Employment- 61
7. Debt Collection- 57
8. Government Grant- 52
9. Healthcare/ Medicare/ Health Insurance- 33
10. Credit Cards- 32
