Fighting Fraud
By Better Business Bureau® Serving Greater Cleveland
Scammers imitating third-party payment processors, such as PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App, have caused headaches for local consumers recently. According to a December 2021 BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust report, these third-party payment processors are the second-most popular payment method for scammers. Reports to BBB in 2021 show that 30% of these scams resulted in a financial loss. With online payment systems gaining the favor of many scammers, Better Business Bureau® Serving Greater Cleveland (BBB®) is alerting residents to be cautious when responding to any communications appearing to be from these companies.
An Old Brooklyn consumer reported to BBB that he was the victim of one of these scams. He told BBB, “I received an email from what I thought was PayPal” but the consumer didn’t have a PayPal account. The email said, “I bought $757 from a place called Blockchain Exchange. (It) gave an invoice and customer number to cancel…I called the number and was on the phone for over an hour (with) a man who said he will fix it for free.” The consumer was asked to download a mobile app and provide his bank account information. Fortunately, the consumer realized it was a scam and hung up. The scammer then repeatedly called back from different phone numbers and threatened to have the consumer arrested.
A Maple Heights consumer also reported a similar scam. This time, the scammer called the consumer and had them download a mobile app called “Any Desk” and then open their Cash App account. The consumer also was asked to send a picture of the front and back of his driver’s license to verify his identity. The consumer did not report losing money but was concerned about identity theft.
BBB Serving Greater Cleveland recommends consumers keep the following tips in mind to protect themselves from phishing communications.
- If something sounds suspicious, contact the company directly. Don’t click on links in an unexpected email – type the URL for the company into the browser or do a web search to find the right website.
- Check the “from” address – While many scammers can spoof the phone numbers and emails of legitimate businesses, many use “throw-away” email accounts or phone numbers to send phishing emails. Always look to see where communications are coming from. If it’s not an official phone number or website, it’s likely a scam.
- Don’t download links, files or apps – Many scammers will ask victims to download remote desktop apps to gain control of their devices. Once the scammer has access, they will likely steal personal information like bank account numbers.
- Question generic emails – Scammers cast a wide net by including little or no specific information in their fake emails. Always be wary of unsolicited messages that don’t contain specifics such as a name or last few digits of account numbers.
Questions? Reach out to your BBB at 216.413.5232 or [email protected]. Have a scam to report? Report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker. For more news and tips visit BBB.org.
