Some of the most cynical scams target service members, their families and veterans, warns the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona. Veterans’ Day is a key opportunity for scammers who would target those who are serving or have served their nation, especially elderly vets.

“It is unconscionable that one of the most dedicated and selfless segments of our population would be targeted by unscrupulous businesses, but they are,” said Brenda Linnington, director of BBB Military Line. “At BBB, we believe our military consumers deserve the level of respect and support commensurate with the effort they make every day on behalf of the rest of us – and we’ll do our utmost on their behalf by promoting a safe and ethical marketplace for all military consumers.”

BBB Military Line provides free financial literacy and consumer protection services to the military (more…)

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning consumers to be on the lookout for a resurgence of the “grandparent scam,” which is again targeting victims in southern Arizona.

The Explorer News is reporting that Oro Valley Police met with a couple that received a phone call from scammers posing as their grandson, who was supposedly in a Canadian jail and needed $2,000 in bail money. The couple said a second man got on the phone claiming to be a police officer; he told the couple that in total they would need to send $4,875 to free their grandson. The couple attempted to wire that amount to Canada, before being told it was a scam by the Western Union attendant.

“Once you send money to Canada, there’s no hope of getting it back,” said Kim States, BBB president. “A good rule of thumb is to never wire money out of the country unless you initiated contact with that relative or friend and you know for a fact they are where they say they are.”

Last year the scam claimed at least one other local victim when 74-year-old Alice Clark answered a call at her Tucson home from someone whom she thought she was her grandson Josh.

“I was just so sure it was him,” said Clark, who tapped into her savings account for $8,000. “He sounded so distressed. He asked me to keep everything confidential because he was embarrassed and didn’t want the family to know what had happened.”

It wasn’t until she didn’t hear back from her grandson that Clark called his home and he surprisingly answered the phone. It was at that moment she knew she had been robbed.

“It was just like somebody threw ice water on me,” she said.

BBB offers the following tips to protect against this scam:

• Don’t fill in the blanks for the caller: In Clark’s example, the scammer asks a leading question “Hello grandma; do you know who this is?”  Ask a lot of questions, and those that have (more…)

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning of a new variation of the infamous “grandparents scam.” So far, the scam has targeted businesses in Washington, but could easily strike closer to home, in Southern Arizona.

The con works like this: the scammer calls a business from a restricted phone number, claiming they’re a detective with the local police department and that one of the company’s employees is in the hospital after being involved in a DUI accident. When the business owner inquires as to the name of the employee that has been in an accident, the caller will answer, “it’s the person you would least expect,” or a similar statement meant to bait the business into providing a name.

If the business owner does name an employee, the scammer will confirm that is the person, and that they need to quietly wire a significant amount of bail money to an unknown location via Wal-Mart MoneyGram, or another wire transfer service in order to keep the employee’s good reputation intact.

Sadly, this scenario can be manipulated to be used against a number of industries. If this incident happens to your establishment, please report it to your local law enforcement agency, as well as BBB. The best defense against business scams is to train staff about known scenarios so they are aware of the red flags to look for, and how to handle the call, so you don’t get burned.

BBB Tips:

• Don’t fill in the blanks for the caller: Ask a lot of questions that have answers only you or someone familiar with your employee should know.

• Do whatever is necessary to confirm your employee’s whereabouts. Get off the phone and call your employee directly to verify what you’ve been told.

• Don’t wire money. Law enforcement will never accept bail via a wire transfer service, and detectives will never solicit bail money from businesses or individuals. If a caller asks for your bank account number or urges you to wire money for any reason, it’s likely a scam. Cons prefer wire transfers because they are fast, and funds can be picked up easily and just about anywhere.