(Getty Images)
Q: I got a call earlier this week from someone who was apparently reaching out to me on behalf of “my local Better Business Bureau.” They asked if I had fallen victim to a scam recently. After I asked him why, he explained that if it was the case, the BBB is issuing refunds to victims of scams. I recalled that about a year ago I lost $250 from one of those infamous “tech support” scams. I was initially very excited and asked him what I was supposed to do. He replied that all I needed to do was log in to a website and enter my banking information so that he could wire the money. My joy came to a halt after hearing that, as I similarly lost my money when I fell for that other scam. So, I abruptly declined the offer and hung up. But I wanted to email you and make certain that it was a scam. I couldn’t find anything on this apparent program searching the net. If it was NOT a scam after all, am I still eligible for my refund? Please let me know; thanks.
A: Thanks for writing your question to me. I hate to break it to you, but that call was not from BBB. It was, as you assumed: a scam. These calls are a relatively new scam, as I only heard about these calls a day or two before receiving this email. It would seem that, like many scams, it is a new twist on an older trick. Unfortunately, issuing refunds to the victims of scams is not something the Better Business Bureau does. In truth, scam victims are rarely reimbursed for the money they were cheated out of, much less paid back in full. Furthermore, BBB never seeks out consumers in such a way as directly calling them. I was also sorry to hear that you were the victim of a tech support scam in the past, but I want you to know that you made the right call hanging up the phone this time. If you haven’t already, I recommend you report this imposter on bbb.org/scamtracker. When you file reports on Scamtracker, you are helping out others and preventing a less-than-favorable outcome for them. The amount of reports and what they pertain to helps your local BBB determine which scams are more prevalent at the moment. If we see many of the same reports, we know which scams we need to investigate and pass on to the media/local authorities. I recommend that you also check out the abundance of articles on bbb.org to familiarize yourself with other types of scams, and how to deal with or even prevent them, in some cases, from happening altogether.
