Business bureau cites top Washington scams of 2015

Published 12:30 pm Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The Better Business Bureau has tallied the year’s top scams with the help of Scam Tracker.

Investigators collected reports from more than 10,000 consumers nationwide.

The top 5 scams hitting Washington are as follows:

1. IRS Scam. Consumers receive threatening phone calls from someone claiming to be with the IRS. The caller tells the consumer he owes taxes to the government and will be thrown in jail unless he pays. The IRS says they never call people who owe money; instead, they notify debtors via mail.

2. Debt Collections. Fake collection agencies call and claim consumers owe credit card debt. They try to gather personal information such as Social Security and bank account numbers.

3. Imposter Scam. Like the IRS scam, fraudsters pose as a federal agent or law enforcement and then contact unsuspecting consumers to try to obtain their personal information. If the scammers succeed, they’re able to steal identities and commit fraud.

4. Government Grant. Bogus government staffers call to inform consumers they have qualified for a grant, but processing fees must be paid in advance via wire transfer to receive the funds.

5. Tech support. Scammers tell consumers their computers have been hacked and they need to gain access in order to fix it. The scammers end up downloading malware or stealing personal information.

Nationally, BBB Scam Tracker also reported the IRS scam at the top. Phony debt collectors, sweepstakes, tech support and the government grant scam rounded off the top five.

For a complete list, go online to www.bbb.org/top10scams.