Sports Memorabilia Scams (Warnings from BBB)
Your Moment of Trust
Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! When shopping for a team jersey or other sports memorabilia, Watch out for fakes. Scammers know that authentic game-used and/or autographed items can fetch big bucks – especially for items commemorating big games. When shopping online, it can be hard to trust that a seller or product is genuine. Follow these tips when buying sports memorabilia: “Game-used” items are highly sought after. Buyers prize items that saw action on the court or field as valuable parts of sports history. Consumers should be aware that there is a...
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BBB's Holiday Tips on Scoring Hard to Find Items
Your Moment of Trust
Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! National experts are predicting an increase in spending this holiday season. There is also a concern if many of the items on consumers' holiday lists will be available on the shelf or online and are faced with the disappointing words: “Sorry, this item is currently out of stock.” That’s especially true when there are challenges with supply chains. But does that mean the words “out of stock” are the end of the line? Not at all. With a little determination and some creative thinking, the item might be found and purchased....
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Class Action Lawsuit Scams to Watch Out For!
Your Moment of Trust
A podcast by A BIG thank you to in Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast! Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! You’ve likely heard ads on the TV or radio about the Camp Lejeune class action lawsuit for U.S. military veterans and their families exposed to tainted water at the camp. Marketing agencies and law firms spent over $40 million advertising the lawsuit. Now, scammers are jumping on board too, hoping all the media attention makes it easier to trick people, especially military personnel, into falling for common scam tactics. How the scam...
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Beware of Holiday Job Scams!
Your Moment of Trust
A Podcast by A BIG Thank you to for Supporting this Podcast Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! Retailers and shippers traditionally hire seasonal workers to fulfill holiday shoppers' demands, whether online or in person. These jobs are a great way to make extra money, sometimes with the possibility of turning into a long-term employment opportunity. However, they are sometimes not all that they seem. When looking for something part-time or to fill the gap until a better opportunity comes, the Better Business Bureau has some suggestions to make the seasonal job...
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ZOMBIE DEBT...Don't Let it Come Back to HAUNT YOU!
Your Moment of Trust
A Podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties: A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repair in Santa Barbara, for supporting this podcast. Welcome to this week's edition of Your Moment of Trust! Zombie debt is defined as debt that has been “raised from the dead,” so to speak. It could even be something you never owed at all. When a person doesn’t pay a debt, the lender will take action – by phone, letter, or even a court case – to collect the money they are owed. In some cases, though, the debtor simply can’t pay or can’t be found. In other cases, the debtor files...
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Did you Make this Purchase? DON'T ANSWER THIS TEXT!
Your Moment of Trust
This Podcast is Brought to you by A BIG thank you to of Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast! Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! One of scammers' favorite tactics is impersonating a person or organization you know and trust. That's the premise of this new text message scam, which has been popping up in recent BBB Scam Tracker reports. This time, con artists are impersonating your bank. How the scam works You receive a text message that looks like a fraud alert from your bank. It claims there is some unusual activity in your...
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Alexa may Dial Scam Sites...OH NO!
Your Moment of Trust
A podcast by A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repair in Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast. Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! Tell Alexa to play your favorite song. Ask Siri about the weather. Use Google Assistant to turn down the air conditioner. But don’t ask your smart device to look up a phone number, because it could accidentally point you to a scam. How the scam works You need the phone number for a company, so you ask your home’s smart device, which might be Google Home, Siri, or Alexa, to find and dial it for you. But when the company’s...
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When to Call a Plumber, rather than Doing it Yourself!
Your Moment of Trust
A podcast by A BIG thank you to in Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast. Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! “Honey, we have a problem with the sink…” When your significant other says those words, it’s never a good sign. Having a reliable plumbing system is something that many take for granted. It’s plumbing that allows clean water to flow into your home and dirty wastewater to flow out. When that service is interrupted, and it’s not just a minor problem – you need it fixed, and fast. But how do you know whether to grab...
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BBB Warning about the Disgruntled Employee Discount Scam
Your Moment of Trust
A BIG thank you to in Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast. Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! Recently, BBB Scam Tracker has received multiple reports of an online shopping scam on TikTok. It’s a sneaky one! It starts with a disgruntled employee supposedly seeking revenge and ends with victims ordering hundreds of dollars in phony merchandise. How the scam works You come across a TikTok video featuring someone claiming they were recently fired at a high-end jewelry store. The termination was completely undeserved, and they are angry. To take their revenge, they...
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Healthcare Scams
Your Moment of Trust
A Podcast by A BIG thank you to in Santa Barbara for supporting this podcast. Welcome to this week’s edition of Your Moment of Trust! Healthcare scams are as varied as just about any con out there. The fraudster often poses as a government authority to persuade you to provide personal information related to your Medicare or Medicaid account for identity theft. In other cases, the con artist is after your health insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare information to submit fraudulent medical charges. How the scam works: The scam typically starts with an email, text message, or phone call that...
info_outlineAccording to the Federal Trade Commission, victims lost $143 million in romance scams last year alone. That's more than any other type of fraud reported to the federal government and the real number is undoubtedly higher because victims are often embarrassed and reluctant to report them. In this episode, learn to stay clear of these sweet talking scam artists! Help the BBB to investigate and warn others by reporting what you know on the BBB SCAM TRACKER.