One of the worst but most effective scams to thrive under pandemic conditions has been the puppy scam. It really kicked into gear during the many lockdowns because more people were home, but even with less restrictions, it's still going strong.
Look, the cold, hard fact is that scammers are looking to screw you over 12 months out of the year. However, the holiday season always brings out more bad actors than the rest of the year, without fail.
Over the past month or so we've seen food product recalls of salads, pet foods, and muffins, all for different reasons. Two had a problem with Salmonella, another involved the potential for listeria. Now comes another recall, and this time it's beef.
I know, I write about scams going around and through Rockford and the Rockford area quite a bit. The reason is pretty simple. I'm outraged by what scammers are doing to senior citizens, people who are barely getting by, young people, and families.
As I look at an email I just got from the Illinois Lottery, I see that tonight's Powerball drawing has about $730 million reasons for you to consider playing. As the Illinois Lottery's Jessica Perez explains, "This is the fourth largest Powerball prize in game history and the sixth highest jackpot in U.S. lottery history."
We're just a few days away from Black Friday, and many people will do their holiday shopping this year online. I know it, you know it...and scam artists know it, too.
From scammers trying to take advantage of local storms, to cyber-thieves, and even fake fundraisers for the repair of the Cathedral of Notre Dame--there are things to be very wary of.
Dennis Horton, Executive Director of the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) joined us with some great advice on avoiding being scammed.