Better Business Bureau of Northern Arizona, spoke about scams and fraud prevention at the April 11 Mingus Mountain Republican Club meeting.
Mott addressed what she claimed were several myths regarding scams, including that identifying a scam or scammer is easy. She argued that scammers are good at manipulation, playing on their marks’ emotions and pretending to be a friend in order to get valuable information.
Another attitude that Mott described as a common myth is that only elderly or under-educated people fall for scams. She said that 82% of people who report scams have at least a bachelor’s degree and research by The New York Times to the effect that adults aged 18 to 24 fall for scams more frequently than seniors do.
Mott rejected the idea that scams do not financially affect the community. Federal Trade Commission numbers show that the average loss for a scam victim is around $300, totaling over $30 billion lost nationwide in money that could theoretically have been spent supporting local businesses and nonprofits.
“To make your lives easier and to support your local communities, shop local,” Mott said. She encouraged the audience to patronize local stores and purchase goods from those they know.
Mott stated that the most important defense against scams is to stay informed and educated, as BBB data shows that 60% of scam victims report not being aware of the techniques used in the scam, which contributes to their falling for it.
Mott also addressed claims that reporting a scam is useless, noting that fewer than 40% of people take the time to actually report a scam. She said that it was necessary to reject fear or embarrassment in order to help others become aware of potential threats.
The BBB has found that the most common scams include:
- Internal Revenue Service scam
- Debt collection scam n Tech support scam
- Credit card scam
- Fake check or money order scam
- Email scams
- Sweepstakes, lottery, prize and government grant scams
Mott told attendees to trust their instincts and remember that they can choose not to answer the phone, open the door or click on an email. If an email has a lot of spelling errors, it is likely to be spam.
Mott also recommended using a credit card to ensure money can be refunded in the event of a scam and shared a scam story that happened to someone she knew. A stranger knocked on a homeowner’s door, claimed that they had just fixed their neighbor’s driveway and offered to fix a crack in theirs. The homeowner wrote them a check, the workers did half of the driveway, left for lunch and never came back — but cashed the check.
Mott stressed the importance of reading the fine print when signing any sort of contract, particularly with regard to liability and the right to cancel the contract. She urged listeners to avoid computer pop-ups, especially those claiming to be virus warnings. Mott shared a story of a family member who received a call from a scammer claiming to be from Microsoft stating that he had a glitch on his computer. He knew it was a scam and ignored it. A couple of weeks later, he was not so alert when a warning popped up on his screen and he gave the scammers his credit card number. Since he used a credit card he was able to stop the payment and get his money back.
Mott also claimed that sharing information on social media and the internet, such as posting pictures while on vacation, is dangerous on the grounds that anyone could see it and deduce that the poster’s home is unoccupied, giving them a window of opportunity to commit a robbery.
