Scammed? The BBB has a survival guide ready to help
(FOX 2) - The number of people targeted by a scammer every day is startlingly high. According to the marketing director for the Better Business Bureau of Michigan, one study found eight of 10 people are caught in the crosshairs of a scam everyday.
For Nakia Mills, who says the BBB has assisted agencies as large as the FBI and the U.S. Attorney General in their investigations, falling for fake emails and callers with bad intentions is nothing to be ashamed of.
"We are constantly telling people 'don't click on the links in your emails' or ‘don’t click on those links in your texts.' Just go directly to the site if you really know you are doing business with that company," said Mills.
But even with constant reminders, many fall victim to scams - and are introduced to the headache of trying to get one's identity back after it's been stolen.
That's why the BBB came up with a scam survival guide.
"It literally takes you on a journey based on what happened to you," Mills said. "These are the next steps you can take, this is who you might want to contact."
Found online, it will take people through a series of questions that helps them regain some of the control they've lost when a scammer finds success.
But it's only a tool that belongs side-by-side with the same advice the BBB implores people to follow: don't take anything for granted.
"Check your credit report every morning, check your bank statements, because technology and everything moves so fast. If you let a week go by a lot can happen," she said.