A new year means new ways for crooks to try to steal your money! NewsChannel 3 spoke with experts from the Better Business Bureau of the MidSouth about the top three scams to avoid in 2023.
Top 3 Scams to Avoid in 2023
#3-Tampered Gift Cards
According to the BBB, thieves are now printing their own bar codes and
placing them over the real ones. That means the money loaded onto gift cards,
goes into the scammer’s account instead of on the gift card purchased by the
consumer.
How to Avoid To Avoid It?
- Check for damaged packaging
- Get a gift card from the back of the pile
- Ask for a gift receipt
#2-Student Loan Scams
It seems crooks are taking advantage of the confusion over the
government’s student loan forgiveness plan. Scammers are calling people
claiming they can help them get rid of their debt, for a fee of course! Some
are even using supposed robocalls with a voice that sounds like President Joe
Biden!
How to Avoid It?
The government’s forgiveness plan is still being sorted out in court, so ignore
calls from anyone claiming to be a government employee, who requests payment to
forgive student loans.
#1-Virtual Kidnapping
If the name itself sounds scary, that’s because it can be, says Daniel Irwin, Director of Public Relations and Outreach for the BBB of the Midsouth. Irwin said their office got eight reports of virtual kidnapping in 2022 and they expect that number will rise this year. He says they’ve also heard one of the calls and it truly is…
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