Better Business Bureau named top scams

Here's a year-end list you may want to investigate. It's the Better Business Bureau's list of the Top Scams of 2011.

The BBB of West Florida released the list, along with a new tool for businesses to keep up with the latest scams circulating.

It's called Scam Source, a resource for checking out the latest offering through email, snail mail or any other source, drawn from scam investigations from BBBs around the country. You can reach Scam Source at www.bbb.org/scam.

You can also sign up to receive the latest Scam Alerts by email and report any scams you have discovered.

The BBB compiled and released a list of the Top Scams of 2011. The choices were divided into nine major categories and then the BBB picked the top scam in each. They also named a Scam of the Year.

• Scam of the Year: Phishing. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people have gotten emails that very much look like an official notice from the BBB or other well-known organizations and businesses.

The subject line says something like "Complaint Against Your Business," and the instructions tell the recipient to either click on a link or open an attachment to get the details.

If the recipient does either, a malicious virus is launched on their computer, a virus that can steal banking information, passwords and other critical pieces of information needed for cyber-theft.

The BBB is working with security consultants and federal law enforcement to track down the sources of these emails and has already shut down dozens of hijacked websites. Anyone who has opened an attachment or clicked on a link should run a complete system scan using reputable anti-virus software. If your computer is networked with others, all machines on the network should also be scanned.

Some of the top scams were:

• Job scams: The BBB sees lots of secret shopper schemes, work-from-home scams and other phony job offers, but the worst job-related scam can dash your hopes and steal your identity.

Emails, websites and online applications all look very professional, and the candidate is even interviewed for the job (usually over the phone) and then receives an offer.

In order to start the job, however, the candidate has to fill out a "credit report" or provide bank information for direct deposit of "paychecks." The online forms are nothing more than a way to capture sensitive personal data — such as Social Security number and bank accounts — that can easily be used for identity theft. And, of course, there is no job.

• Top check cashing scam: Two legitimate companies — Craigslist and Western Union — are used for an inordinate amount of scamming these days, and especially check cashing scams.

Here's how it works: Someone contacts you via a Craigslist posting, maybe for a legitimate reason like buying your old couch or perhaps through a scam like hiring you as a secret shopper. Either way, they send you a check for more than the amount they owe you, and they ask you to deposit it into your bank account and then send them the difference via Western Union.

A deposited check takes a couple of days to clear, whereas wired money is gone instantly. When the original check bounces, you are out whatever money you wired … and you're still stuck with the old couch.

• Top sales scam: Sales scams are as old as humanity, but the Internet has introduced a whole new way to rip people off. Penny auctions are very popular because it seems like you can get something useful — cameras, computers, etc. — for way below retail. But you pay a small fee for each bid — usually 50 cents to $1 — and if you aren't the winner, you lose that bid money.

Winners often are not even the top bidder, just the last bidder when time runs out. Although not all penny auction sites are scams, some are being investigated as online gambling. The BBB recommends you treat them the same way you would legal gambling in a casino — know exactly how the bidding works, set a limit for yourself, and be prepared to walk away before you go over that limit.