The month of May is Older American Month. In light of this, the Better Business Bureau is holding classes to educate the community on scams and how to avoid them. The class is open to anyone who wants to learn more.
May 6th was the first class of the month; during the session, they spoke on all things scam-related and what everyone can look out for.
The BBB says imposter scams and identity theft still lead when it comes to fraud.
And for those who are 55-plus, investment in cryptocurrency is the riskiest scam, followed by romance/friendship scams and employment scams.
The BBB says they want to teach people what to look out for so that they don't find themselves being a victim of a scam.
Timothy Johnston with the Better Business Bureau says, "We all can be a victim of a scam no matter what generation we're from, so it's really important that we're aware of what's taking place and know what's impacting our generation so we can be aware of it."
Johnston mentions technology is the underlying key to all of these scams, and says because of this there is more of a chance for people to fall victim to scams - especially the older demographic, because they might not be as fluent in technology, which gives scammers an advantage.
He emphasizes that it's important to know what to look for and to report any and all scams.
You can find a Scam Tracker on the Better Business Bureau's website.
Johnston tells us, "[The tracker is] a way for you to report whether you've lost money or not; other people can see those reports as they come in on a daily basis, and we share the information with the Federal Trade Commission so it's getting out to law enforcement."
He also talked about the BBB's Scam Survival Toolkit website.
"This is a free tool kit to help you if you've been a victim of a scam," says Johnson. "We often hear about the financial impact; there's also typically an emotional and mental health impact as well. So you answer some simple questions, and it will walk you through a path and provide you some resources and steps to take to recover from that particular scam."
According to the BBB:
- 29.6% of people reported that their mental health was impacted by the scam incident, and more than 53% reported having anxiety, stress, and trauma from a scam
- 36.2% reported the scam involved social media
- For investment scams: 45.3% said the incident involved cryptocurrency, and 23.8% said the scam was perpetrated by an online contact
- 40.1% of those who reported employment scams said flexibility to work from home was the top motivating factor for engaging with a scammer
If you would like to be a part of any upcoming anti-scam classes, the BBB is holding the next classes are listed below:
- Tuesday, May 13th - Northwest Reno Library at 1:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, May 20th - Sparks Library at 11:00 a.m.
