Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
One of the biggest shopping days of the year. I
think number one probably for online shopping because they designated
for that and you got to look out. We're joined
by our good friend Jim Hegrity from the Better Business
Bureau James, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Pay Happy as Cyber Monday here.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Yeah, happy indeed, which it is for many people. But man,
I got some stats from some of your colleagues and
the Better Business Bureau about how the increase is a well,
fraud is up one hundred and twenty five percent right
over the last year.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, yeah, it's sort of exponential. I think people just
need to understand that today or really any day through
alcoholidays and probably anytime of the year, they just need
to be really careful watch for, you know, links that
are maybe sent to you by text or email, so
they're coming to you rather than you initiating them. And
(00:53):
I think today probably a great day to stay with
trustworthy businesses, not businesses that you just heard about or
maybe you just received an email or a text in
that they've got a smoking deal. I think people should
watch for fake ads and lookike websites. A lot of
these crime gangs create pretty sophisticated sites that look like
(01:16):
you look like maybe it's Target, look like maybe it's Walmart.
But there's some nuances in the web address that aren't
just exactly correct, So you know, be very careful. Price
check before you buy. If you're seeing a deal that
is just like significantly lower than any prices that you've
seen for the item that you're looking for, you know,
(01:37):
that's typically a red flag. And then definitely pay with
a credit card. Do not use your debit card. It's
a lot easier to dispute charges if you use your
credit card. So you know, those are a few tips
that people can use today. And then also, you know,
during the holidays, we want people to watch for fake
employment opportunities. There's a lot of people that do look
(01:58):
for temporary work this time of the year, and our
friendly scammers will often post fake ads lure people in
try to get them to provide them with personal information
that you're typically required to give when you're looking for
a job. So it's just a great time to be careful.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Well, you mentioned look for unusual things in the web
address that can be pretty subtle. You know, as you say,
the web these scammers make everything look legitimate. One of
the suggestions I heard was if you see something and
looks really good, let's just say from Target. That doesn't
matter who it is, let's say it's from Target. They
suggest go independently to the target website and make sure
(02:43):
that that deal is legitimate. That's being offered on your
text or on your unsolicited email.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Right, yeah, absolutely. You know the link may take you
somewhere that you don't want to go, So you want
to you want to take control of your shopping. Be
sure that you're typing in the address of Target, Walmart,
or whatever retailer that it might be, so that you
know when you get to that site, you're actually on
that site. So be super careful throughout the holidays of
(03:13):
unsolicited text unsolicited emails offering you smoking deals on products
that are probably pretty hot this year. And then we
also know this time of year we want to warn people.
If you're thinking about getting a puppy for your family,
just understand that so many of the sites that you're
going to go to if you're looking for a Boston Terrier,
(03:35):
or if you're looking for a bulldog or a Golden
Retriever and you enter that into your search, it's likely
that maybe sixty seventy percent of the returns that you're
going to get are going to be fake ads that
have been purchased by crime gangs, and they're going to
lead you to sites that look very sophisticated. They'll be
beautiful pictures of puppies, they'll be videos. All of those
(03:56):
have typically been hijacked by legitimate kennel operators here in
the States. Uh. So they'll last you for down payments uh.
And then when the puppy is ready to be shipped,
they'll tell you that you need to buy a temperature
controlled shipping container.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And then they'll call you and tell you that your
puppy has been detained at an airport and it has
to go to a vet to be checked. So it
kind of goes on and on until the poor family
cries uncle and realizes, you know, there was no puppy
in the first place. So again, initiate you search yourself
right for for legitimate kennels, and we're always available, Gary, uh,
(04:33):
you know, every day to help people sort through some
of the confusion that exists out there. And all they
got to do is give us a call and we'll
help them try to unravel whether or not they're dealing
with something legitimate or something data.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Right, then what's that contact Jim, Oh, they.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Can call one. Yeah, they just if they just google
BBB omaha, they come straight to us or or BBB
dot org. It'll it'll pull up our site. Uh and
uh and we'll we'll get them. They'll be able to
find the numbers that they need and they'll if they
want to, they can call eight hundred six four nine
six eight one four. Uh. And we've got operators standing
(05:13):
by to help them sort through all this stuff. Gary.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, and there are so many people. I think we
all know people who have gone to a kennel here
that's as a good reputation, or the Humane Society and
I've adopted a pet. So yeah, the online thing, that's
just sec that's just second. They would do that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
And you know, and we've been warning about this now
for years and we've done deep investigations and uh and
it's NonStop. So you know, the scammers, they're pretty sophisticated typically.
You know, these are crime gangs that they have. They've
hired great tech people. Uh, they've got creative people. So
these are businesses that are being run by bad operators
(05:56):
and their intentions are are not good for the American consumer,
so be super careful out there. And then also Gary,
we see so many text messages that are coming to
people about package delivery, you know, letting people know that
you know their package is being held. All of them
(06:18):
they weren't able to deliver it, and they'll ask you
to call a number, and then they'll obviously at some
point it's going to involve a charge where they're going
to ask you for your credit card. So don't respond
to any of those either. If you get something from
the United States Postal Service, if you get something from
UPS or FedEx, do not respond to that. Independently, research
(06:40):
the number, call them and ask them if they actually
are having an issue with delivering a package to you.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Better Business Bureaus. Jim Hearty catching bad guys whenever he can. James,
thank you. Have a great Christmas.
One of the biggest shopping days of the year. I
think number one probably for online shopping because they designated
for that and you got to look out. We're joined
by our good friend Jim Hegrity from the Better Business
Bureau James, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Pay Happy as Cyber Monday here.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Yeah, happy indeed, which it is for many people. But man,
I got some stats from some of your colleagues and
the Better Business Bureau about how the increase is a well,
fraud is up one hundred and twenty five percent right
over the last year.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, yeah, it's sort of exponential. I think people just
need to understand that today or really any day through
alcoholidays and probably anytime of the year, they just need
to be really careful watch for, you know, links that
are maybe sent to you by text or email, so
they're coming to you rather than you initiating them. And
(00:53):
I think today probably a great day to stay with
trustworthy businesses, not businesses that you just heard about or
maybe you just received an email or a text in
that they've got a smoking deal. I think people should
watch for fake ads and lookike websites. A lot of
these crime gangs create pretty sophisticated sites that look like
(01:16):
you look like maybe it's Target, look like maybe it's Walmart.
But there's some nuances in the web address that aren't
just exactly correct, So you know, be very careful. Price
check before you buy. If you're seeing a deal that
is just like significantly lower than any prices that you've
seen for the item that you're looking for, you know,
(01:37):
that's typically a red flag. And then definitely pay with
a credit card. Do not use your debit card. It's
a lot easier to dispute charges if you use your
credit card. So you know, those are a few tips
that people can use today. And then also, you know,
during the holidays, we want people to watch for fake
employment opportunities. There's a lot of people that do look
(01:58):
for temporary work this time of the year, and our
friendly scammers will often post fake ads lure people in
try to get them to provide them with personal information
that you're typically required to give when you're looking for
a job. So it's just a great time to be careful.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Well, you mentioned look for unusual things in the web
address that can be pretty subtle. You know, as you say,
the web these scammers make everything look legitimate. One of
the suggestions I heard was if you see something and
looks really good, let's just say from Target. That doesn't
matter who it is, let's say it's from Target. They
suggest go independently to the target website and make sure
(02:43):
that that deal is legitimate. That's being offered on your
text or on your unsolicited email.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Right, yeah, absolutely. You know the link may take you
somewhere that you don't want to go, So you want
to you want to take control of your shopping. Be
sure that you're typing in the address of Target, Walmart,
or whatever retailer that it might be, so that you
know when you get to that site, you're actually on
that site. So be super careful throughout the holidays of
(03:13):
unsolicited text unsolicited emails offering you smoking deals on products
that are probably pretty hot this year. And then we
also know this time of year we want to warn people.
If you're thinking about getting a puppy for your family,
just understand that so many of the sites that you're
going to go to if you're looking for a Boston Terrier,
(03:35):
or if you're looking for a bulldog or a Golden
Retriever and you enter that into your search, it's likely
that maybe sixty seventy percent of the returns that you're
going to get are going to be fake ads that
have been purchased by crime gangs, and they're going to
lead you to sites that look very sophisticated. They'll be
beautiful pictures of puppies, they'll be videos. All of those
(03:56):
have typically been hijacked by legitimate kennel operators here in
the States. Uh. So they'll last you for down payments uh.
And then when the puppy is ready to be shipped,
they'll tell you that you need to buy a temperature
controlled shipping container.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And then they'll call you and tell you that your
puppy has been detained at an airport and it has
to go to a vet to be checked. So it
kind of goes on and on until the poor family
cries uncle and realizes, you know, there was no puppy
in the first place. So again, initiate you search yourself
right for for legitimate kennels, and we're always available, Gary, uh,
(04:33):
you know, every day to help people sort through some
of the confusion that exists out there. And all they
got to do is give us a call and we'll
help them try to unravel whether or not they're dealing
with something legitimate or something data.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Right, then what's that contact Jim, Oh, they.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Can call one. Yeah, they just if they just google
BBB omaha, they come straight to us or or BBB
dot org. It'll it'll pull up our site. Uh and
uh and we'll we'll get them. They'll be able to
find the numbers that they need and they'll if they
want to, they can call eight hundred six four nine
six eight one four. Uh. And we've got operators standing
(05:13):
by to help them sort through all this stuff. Gary.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, and there are so many people. I think we
all know people who have gone to a kennel here
that's as a good reputation, or the Humane Society and
I've adopted a pet. So yeah, the online thing, that's
just sec that's just second. They would do that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
And you know, and we've been warning about this now
for years and we've done deep investigations and uh and
it's NonStop. So you know, the scammers, they're pretty sophisticated typically.
You know, these are crime gangs that they have. They've
hired great tech people. Uh, they've got creative people. So
these are businesses that are being run by bad operators
(05:56):
and their intentions are are not good for the American consumer,
so be super careful out there. And then also Gary,
we see so many text messages that are coming to
people about package delivery, you know, letting people know that
you know their package is being held. All of them
(06:18):
they weren't able to deliver it, and they'll ask you
to call a number, and then they'll obviously at some
point it's going to involve a charge where they're going
to ask you for your credit card. So don't respond
to any of those either. If you get something from
the United States Postal Service, if you get something from
UPS or FedEx, do not respond to that. Independently, research
(06:40):
the number, call them and ask them if they actually
are having an issue with delivering a package to you.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Better Business Bureaus. Jim Hearty catching bad guys whenever he can. James,
thank you. Have a great Christmas.
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