These 10 costly scams are most rampant. Here are the red flags to look for

(NEXSTAR) – As technology becomes more sophisticated, so do scammers. Cryptocurrency scams scamming Americans out of billions are becoming a bigger problem as bad actors adapt to the times, the Better Business Bureau said.

The BBB said in its annual Fraud Tracker report that investment fraud and crypto fraud are the “most dangerous” types of fraud in 2023. Scammers are taking advantage of people’s general lack of understanding of cryptocurrencies, promising huge returns on their purchases, the agency said. Bitcoin.

One victim, who shared her storysaid he came across a cryptocurrency scam while watching YouTube videos about Bitcoin investing. People posting in her comments said she was making money using trading services, so she contacted the investment firm.

“Shaenelle purchased Bitcoin through Cash App and was told to send $1,500. Despite the financial strain, she sent the money. After 10 days, she had $7,345.56 in her account. We received a screenshot showing the increase to $.000,” the BBB said.

The problem arose when she tried to withdraw her income. She was told to pay her commission of $700 and her broker’s fee of $800. The broker still denied her the so-called income and demanded an additional $1,200 in fees. That’s when she realized it was a scam.

The median loss reported for investment and cryptocurrency scams was $3,800.

Another scam that has become more prevalent since the pandemic is employment schemes. They may think they are accepting a job offer, but they are actually being recruited to help in a scam.that It happened to a woman in St. Louis. Her new “employer” deposited $2,400 into her bank account and then told her to buy a $2,400 gift card and send him the number on the back. Her bank then told her the $2,400 check was fraudulent, and she never heard from her “employer” after that.

According to the BBB, employment scams were more likely to target people under the age of 45, while investment and cryptocurrency scams were more likely to target older adults. romance scam The problem is also exacerbated, especially for people over 65.

According to the BBB, the 10 most dangerous consumer scams of 2023 are:

1. Investment/Virtual currency
2. employment
3. buy online
4. home repair
5. romance
6. prepaid loan
7. Phishing/Social Engineering
8. Credit repair/debt reduction
9. technical support
10. Travel/Vacation/Timeshare

To determine how “dangerous” each type of scam is, the BBB looked at several metrics. That is, how widespread was this scam last year, how much money did victims lose, and what are the chances of victims losing their money once they are targeted?

But money is not the only thing victims lose to scammers. They also report losing time, having their personal information compromised, and putting their credit scores at risk.

To avoid falling victim to scams, the BBB advises people to:

• Be careful when interacting with new people
• Avoid making quick decisions when it comes to money and don’t feel pressured to act right away.
• Don’t click on links or open attachments in unsolicited emails or text messages
• If the offer seems too good to be true, trust your instincts