Fraudsters impersonating businesses going bankrupt: BBB

The Better Business Bureau says scammers are taking advantage of businesses in financial turmoil in an attempt to steal personal information. (Pexels/Ekaterina Belinskaya)

Scammers are trying another new ploy by using recent bankruptcies and “going out of business” sales to steal personal data from victims.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says as some high profile and even lesser known retail outlets have recently closed, scammers are also paying attention to the proceedings and crafting fake websites to trick consumers.

Officials say the websites use “advertising that spoofs legitimate businesses” while also creating entirely new and fraudulent businesses to steal from victims.

“Their entire motivation is to steal your credit card and personal information to commit fraud,” said Mary O’Sullivan-Andersen, president and CEO of BBB serving Alberta and East Kootenay.

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The BBB says the scam usually begins with a post on social media about a business closing its doors.

When users click the ad, they are taken to the fake website that looks identical to the original website, but the merchandise is listed at deep, too-good-to-be-true discounts.

When items are “purchased”, scammers now have access to the victim’s personal information.

“The other variation of this scam are ads and websites being created about completely fictitious businesses,” said O’Sullivan-Andersen. “The end result is the same - credit card information is entered and money stolen.”

To protect against these scams, the BBB offers the following advice:

• Confirm the website’s URL;
• Instead of clicking on links, go to the business’ real website;
• Use credit cards for online purchases as they possess fraud protection debit cards don’t; and
• Be aware of what information is being requested, especially when that data is not used for sales, such as social insurance numbers.

More consumer safety tips can be found online on the BBB website.