10 scams lost Rochester residents millions

Online purchase scams, where scammers pretend to purchase an item, send a fake check and ask for a refund, were the top scams in the Rochester region last year.

Almost 30,000 online purchase scams, which include purchases and sales often made on eBay, Craigslist and other direct seller-to-buyer sites, were reported in 2023, resulting in over $525 million lost, according to the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York, which also includes Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse.

Here’s what other top scams affected those in the Rochester region.

Which other top scams affected Rochester-area residents?

Millions of dollars were lost to scams in the Rochester, Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse regions in 2023, from employment scams to government agency imposter scams.

Here are the nine other top scams Rochester-area residents faced in 2023.

● Over 10,000 employment scams, which try to convince you you’ve applied for or have just been hired for a promising new career, but instead steal your money or personal information, resulted in a loss of over $14 million.

● Over $11 million was lost due to over 9,000 reported phishing scams, in which scammers impersonate a trustworthy entity to try to get you to provide personal information.

● Five thousand scams that people report fall outside of the BBB’s main categories have resulted in an almost $67 million loss.

● Almost 1,800 sweepstakes/lottery/prizes scams, which make you think you’ve won a prize but must pay upfront fees to receive non-existent winnings, were reported, totaling a loss of over $28 million.

● Counterfeit product scams, of which there were over 1,500, garnered a loss of over $900,000.

● Over 1,500 debt collections scams, where phony debt collectors try to get people to pay debts they don’t owe, were reported in 2023, totaling a loss of over $300,000.

● Over 1,300 tech support scam reports, where scammers posing as tech support employees of well-known tech companies try to hassle victims into paying for “support,” garnered a loss of over $3.2 million.

● Government agency imposter scam reports totaled over 1,100, resulting in an over $2.2 million loss.

● One thousand reports of advance fee loan scams, which guarantee a loan but after you pay upfront, the loan never materializes, were filed with the BBB last year, netting an over $1.6 million loss.

Emily Barnes is the New York State Team consumer advocate reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Barnes at ebarnes@gannett.com or on Twitter @byemilybarnes.