Breaux Bridge senior citizens briefed on scams

The Better Business Bureau Serving Acadiana brought its scam awareness program to local seniors Thursday, Dec. 3.
BBB special events coordinator Robin Henry Stokes discussed recent scams and safe holiday shopping practices with seniors at the St. Martin Parish Council on Aging site at the Sydnie Mae Durand Center and also at the Maison de Williams Adult Care facility.
Stokes discussed two scams currently operating in the area. The first is a utility scam, where people call and claim residents are behind on their electric bill and must pay immediately over the phone to avoid interruption in service.
The second scam discussed is the “one-call scam,” where scammers call cell phones once then hang up. If the victim returns the call, they receive an unexpected $20 charge on the next phone bill. The IRS scam, Nigerian scam, grant scam and sweepstakes scams were also discussed.
Stokes presented safe shopping practices for holiday gift buying, including knowing return policies and shopping safely on line. She also reminded consumers to support local business and charities and to always check out businesses and charities with BBB before making a purchase or donation. She also informed consumers of the new BBB Scam Tracker website. It enables consumers to report a suspected scam and view scam details reported by others. Scam reports can be sorted to reveal trends over time and by location. It is available to consumers at www.bbb.org/scamtracker.
BBB Serving Acadiana is a private non-profit organization. BBB strives for a trustworthy marketplace by maintaining standards for truthful advertising, investigating and exposing fraud against consumers and businesses.
Contact Better Business Bureau at bbb.org or (337) 981-3497 24 hours a day for information on businesses throughout North America. Consumers can also sign up for our “Scoop” BBB eNewsletter by visiting bbb.org and clicking on the “Programs & Services” tab.
BBB Serving Acadiana services the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Landry and Vermilion.