Non-profit fights scammers with online tool

JACKSON, Tenn. — A non-profit organization is helping track scammers to prevent fraud.

If you have experienced multiple scam calls already, then the Better Business Bureau has developed a tracker tool for you.

Due to COVID-19, more scam calls have been reported from people in West Tennessee and all over the Mid-South.

To prevent these scams, the BBB is encouraging individuals to use their online “Scam Tracker” tool.

This tool allows consumers to report scams, and it helps the BBB track and expose those same scams.

It also allows you to see different types of reports like debt collectors, home improvement and auto-insurance scams.

“We reported 134 scams in the Jackson and West Tennessee area in 2020 for a total loss of about $32,000,” said Nancy Butcher, Director of Marketing and Communications for the BBB.

In Jackson, there have been two employment scams, two government grant scams, and a puppy scam victim who lost $850.

Butcher says there not too much that can be done if someone loses money.

“In most instances when people lose money to a scammer, unfortunately, there is not a way to recover those funds,” Butcher said.

Butcher encourages everyone to use the Scam Tracker to help others. Scams can be reported anonymously.

“We encourage everybody to report information about scams, and you don’t have to know who the scammer is, you don’t have to know any information about the scammer,” she said.

This tracking tool cannot get your money back if you have lost it, but it will help stop scammers from calling by putting in the information that was said in the call.

For more information on the Scam Tracker tool or to see scams that were reported in your area, visit the BBB’s website.