Top 5 Local Scams - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

 As part of National Consumer Protection Week, we've been working to make sure your money and identity are safe. Here are the top five schemes and rip offs in our area, according to the Better Business Bureau:

1)      Sweepstakes scams – People receive phone calls, letters or emails telling them they've won cash prizes or luxury cars. The catch: ‘winners' must first wire fees for insurance or taxes in order to claim their ‘prizes.' If you have to pay to claim your prize, you haven't won anything.

2)      Employment/work-at-home scams – People are told they can make good money working just a few hours a week from their homes. Or else they're asked to provide sensitive personal information as part of an online job application. Unfortunately, these claims of easy money are always proven false and the only people who profit are the people making these offers.

3)      Mystery shopping – People receive real-looking checks in the mail and are told to cash them, spend some of the money at certain stores, keep a small portion as ‘salary' and then wire back the rest to the scammers. Though there are legitimate mystery shopping firms, they provide at best supplemental income. And they do not send people checks and ask them to cash them. That's always the sign of a scammer.

4)      The Grandparent Scam – The targets are usually elderly and receive a phone call (or a message via social media) from someone claiming to be a loved one who's in trouble in a foreign country. The callers play on the emotions grandparents have for their loved ones and always beg for secrecy (don't tell mom and dad!). It's always a good idea not to panic and verify the information you've received. Check with family members to ascertain the accuracy of claims such as this.

5)      Craigslist rental scams – People find ads for rental properties that are usually much lower than the market rate. When they follow up, they are told via email the renter is overseas (usually claiming to be on a missionary trip). The renter is eager to rent their ‘property' (usually they just take the picture off of a real rental property and then make a bogus ad), and all they need is a deposit or the first month's rent. People who don't take time to research these ads are often surprised to visit their ‘new home or apartment' only to find there are people living there who are surprised to find them at their doorstep (as they're not involved with the bogus ads). Watch for grammatical and spelling errors and offers that are too good to be true. Many of these scammers operate from overseas and they don't have a firm grasp of the English language.