As Valentine’s Day approaches, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona warns that Cupid’s arrow may be aimed directly at consumers’ wallets. Those who find themselves awash in love’s emotion should remember that con artists thrive on the fact that emotion can trump logic.

There are three categories of scams that we all should be aware of at this romantic season as well as throughout the year.

Online Dating

Their photo may be attractive and their story may sound compelling but that person you met through an online dating site may turn out to be the very opposite of your soul mate. Photos, profiles and stories can be easily faked on dating sites. One common tactic is to claim to be a successful overseas businessperson with no family.

After what seems like sincere conversation in which many questions are asked of you, the scammer can skillfully employ psychology to say precisely what you want to hear.

Once the ice is broken and a comfort level has been reached on your part, the heart of the matter is arrived at: they need financial assistance. They may want you to cash a check for them or otherwise help them out of a financial difficulty. It could be travel expenses, medical expenses or some other type of debt. At any rate it is your money less than your heart that they are after. MoneyGram, one of the major global money transfer companies, has estimated that romance scams defraud victims of over $10,000 for each occurrence. For those so victimized, whatever the amount, a website called romancescams.org can be helpful.

Online Florists

When love is in bloom many rely on the traditional symbol of thoughtfulness, the bouquet, to convey their feelings for that special person. But be aware that online florists are not always reliable. If the flowers that are actually received by your loved one are inferior arrangements from those ordered, or even not delivered at all, it can be a wilting experience. (more…)

BBB of Southern Arizona is warning of a new “Tech Support Scam” that involves telephone scammers calling consumers, and offering to help them remove any viruses that may have infected their computers as a result of the recent BBB email phishing scam.

The criminals who run Tech Support Scams attempt to trick their victims into infecting their own computers with malware, and other viruses, by directing them over the phone to download fraudulent antivirus software online that actually contain only viruses. Once consumers download this software the scammers will attempt to steal sensitive personal information from their computers.

The new scam appears to be a continuation of the recent BBB email phishing scam, where consumers and businesses nationwide received bogus BBB complaint emails urged them to open virus-infected links.

BBB Tips:

• BBB will never call businesses or consumers and offer tech support over the phone
• If your computer was infected by a virus from the BBB email phishing scam use your computers existing antivirus to scan your computer, and if that doesn’t work take your computer to a specialist.
• If you have any questions involving the BBB tech support scam phone calls, or the BBB email phishing scam contact BBB by calling (520)888-5353 or visiting www.tucson.bbb.org.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning businesses of a scam email that appears to be from BBB, but actually contains malicious links, and seeks to trick businesses into divulging sensitive information.

The “phishing” email, signed “Accreditation Services,” seeks to trick victims into filling out an online form that asks for detailed information about the business. Because the links contained in the email may contain viruses, anyone who clicks on them should immediately scan their computer with updated anti-virus software.

Should you receive such an email, please disregard its message, and report any information received to phishing@council.bbb.org, and then delete it.

Below is a copy of the scam email. BBB has deactivated all the possibly malicious links:

“Thank you for supporting your Better Business Bureau (BBB). Your BBB receives more than 6,500 requests for information every day and provides reliability reports to consumers 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.

As a service to BBB Accredited Businesses, we try to ensure that the information we provide to potential customers is as accurate as possible. In order for us to provide the correct information to the public, we ask that you review the information that we have on file for your company. (more…)