The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has released a report with the top scams in 2023 with Texans reportedly losing $9 million to scams.
Compared to the previous five years, that is a $6 million to $7 million increase in total losses, according to the report.
The BBB said online purchases, employment and phishing scams are the top three most popular scams of 2023 that Texans fall for.
The agency said that people ages 18 to 34 are more likely to fall for an employment scam first, followed by online purchases then phishing. For people ages 35 – 65, its online purchase scams, then employment then phishing.
Currently, scammers can come in different forms like through social media, email or phone call. However, according to the BBB, age does not play a factor on how people fall victim to different forms of contact from scammers.
“So for those that are over the age of 35, the top three contact methods that we do see, it stays the same with most of them losing money to scammers who contact them via social media, which is not too surprising,” Katie Galan, director of communication and engagement at BBB, said. “That is followed by contact through website and then lastly through email. So, meanwhile, the age range of 18 to 24 lose money most often when they’re contacted through email. It’s the only age group where phones are among the top three contact methods. So our 25 to 34 age group. Website do appear to be the main contact method that’s resulting in an actual monetary loss there.”
To make sure people don’t fall for scammers, the BBB advises every person to update their computer and online software, regularly monitor financial accounts, beware of emails with grammar and spelling errors and don’t give out log-in or personal information through texts or emails.
To learn more safety tips or to report a scam, visit bbb.org.
