RALEIGH, N.C. – As people focus on their New Year’s resolutions, the Better Business Bureau of North Carolina is sharing tips to help people avoid scams and (hopefully) save some money.

What You Need To Know

  • As people get focused on New Year’s resolutions, the Better Business Bureau recommends being wary of scammers

  • Alyssa Parker with the BBB advises people to do research before paying money down, never give money to strangers and check out budgeting tools to save money and avoid scams in the New Year

  • The top five scams reported to the BBB in 2022 in North Carolina involved online purchases, employment, phishing, lottery and prizes and counterfeit products

That begins with looking at the top scams that swindled North Carolinians out of their money, personal information and time in 2022.

BBB’s Top 5 Scams of 2022:

  • Online purchase scams: 487 fell victim to these scams involving pet adoption, online shopping and social media advertising
  • Employment scams: 173 instances were reported of scammers advertising false jobs
  • Phishing scams: 169 individuals experienced scams asking for personal information such as Social Security number, passwords and credit card numbers
  • Sweepstakes, lottery and prize scams: Almost 70 people were told they won large amounts and were conned into sending money for taxes or other costs associated with receiving the prize
  • Counterfeit product scams: Almost 50 people received counterfeit merchandise for what they thought was a great bargain.

Alyssa Parker with the BBB advises, first and foremost, to never send money to a stranger or company where you don’t know where your money is going.

“We have had so many people contact our office saying, 'I can't get this money back. I don't know who I sent it to,' ” Parker said. “If you don't know this person or you don't feel comfortable sending money to this person, do not do it.”

If getting your finances in order is on your resolutions list, Parker recommends sitting down and taking a look at where your money is and what it’s going toward.

“The first thing you can do is inventory your credit cards, you know, take a look at them, actually see how much you owe on each of your credit cards. See if you can consolidate them, see if you can switch some of those monies that you owe to one particular card, see which one has the better interest rate,” Parker said.

She also recommends doing some research, checking out budgeting tools and reaching out to the three credit bureaus for help improving your credit score.

If losing weight is your resolution, the BBB has a number of ways to get the most out of your gym membership.

“You just want to make sure that it's the right place for you. And if it's the right place for you, you're actually more likely to stick with your resolution and to lose that weight once you've actually picked your gym out,” she said.

Once you do have a place picked out, Parker recommends reading the contract over carefully to understand the fine print.

Overall, Parker said, “Be smart when you're trying to purchase things online. Watch out for (Facebook) Marketplace. Make sure you actually deal with the real person. Don't send money to strangers and just be smart, you know, having some common sense, really taking a step back, not feeling rushed into purchasing things.”