The Better Business Bureau of Western Michigan is reminding everyone how to avoid phishing scams as it saw the number of them reported in the region double for 2024.
BBB spokesperson Katie Grevious tells us a phishing scam is an attempt to get a person to reveal their personal information.
“We’ve all probably received this text message at some point saying that our package has arrived at the warehouse, but they can’t be delivered and we need to click on a link for more information,” Grevious said. “That is a typical phishing scam.”
Grevious says the reported scam attempts ramped up during the holidays as people waited for packages to arrive and were more likely to fall for solicitations. She says if you get a text or email claiming to be from some service you may have used, check directly with the source.
“If they claim that they’re a delivery service or they claim they’re your bank, call those places directly or go into the app or the website where you ordered that product from and check on that shipping directly.”
The three most commonly reported scams to the BBB in 2024 were related to online purchases, employment, and just general phishing inquiries.
Grevious says you can report scam attempts to the Better Business Bureau because it shares that information with members, the public, and the authorities.