Watch CBS News

3 On Your Side: Top Scams Of 2016

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Better Business Bureau is out with the top scams for 2016. As 3 On Your Side's Jim Donovan tells us, the scams vary in name but they're also similar in the way they work.

Countless Americans have received a call similar to the one that Mary Van Essendelft got one day. A con artist posing as an IRS agent told her that if she didn't pay her family's taxes shed be thrown in jail. She ended up forking over nearly $100-thousand dollars. According to Van Essendelft, "He said don't tell anybody, don't call anybody because your house is bugged."

The Better Business Bureau says tax cons were the top reported scam of 2016. In other popular scams criminals pose as debt collectors, or say you've won a sweepstakes, or offer a job opportunity. Online purchase scams were popular too where victims buy items from a fake website.

The Better Business Bureau's Emma Fletcher says the various phone scams have something in common, the con artists want money right away. According to Fletcher, "They love to create a sense of urgency to get you into a heightened emotional state where you need to get them that money immediately ."

That's what Linda Williams told us earlier this year. A con artist called her claiming she'd won 50-thousand dollars, but first had to wire them several up-front fees. Williams says, "I thought, eventually, I guess I hoped that this was real."

And the scam artists want an untraceable form of payment. Fletcher says, "They're asking you to transfer money through a wire transfer service or asking you to pay with a gift card, money card, green dot, those are big red flags."

Experts say if someone is demanding money or if the offer sounds too good to be true its likely a scam.

There is some good news on the IRS scam. The B.B.B. better says reports of the scam went down dramatically after authorities shut down an alleged criminal call center in India.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.