ST. LOUIS, Mo. – As the new year begins, Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) has developed 10 resolutions that can help you fight scammers, prevent identity theft, and find trustworthy businesses and charities in the coming year.
The following resolutions can help consumers have a safe, fraud-free 2023:
- Check a business out with BBB before you buy. More than 400,000 businesses meet BBB’s Standards for Trust and are qualified to use a BBB Accredited Business seal on their websites and at business locations. Visit BBB.org to find BBB Business Profiles for 5.3 million businesses across North America.
- Be skeptical if you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS. The IRS doesn’t call people or email them to inform them of taxes or penalties due nor does it threaten to arrest or sue taxpayers. Their initial contact always is by letter. BBB recently published an in-depth investigative study on government imposter scams.
- Always read the fine print — especially with “free” trial offers. Thousands of consumers have complained to BBB after signing up for a “free” trial offer online that resulted in repeated charges to their credit or debit cards, sometimes amounting to hundreds of dollars every month. Read the terms and conditions of any “free” trial offer before handing over credit or debit card numbers. BBB published an in-depth investigative…
