COLUMBUS, Ohio — According to Central Ohio Better Business Bureau, scams have increased by 30% in the last year for those between the ages of 18 and 24.
They said the number one scam for that age group is employment scams.
“It’s really an opportunity for scammers to offer high paying, work from home jobs that are very attractive to younger adults,” said Judy Dollison, the president of the Central Ohio Better Business Bureau.
The other common scams are shopping online and rental scams.
Dollison said she believes young people are being targeted because they are more comfortable with giving out personal information, especially on social media.
10TV spoke to someone who recently went through an employment scam. Nicholas Shust was looking for a job on Indeed when he thought he found the perfect match.
“They had me sign paperwork to say I was an employee there. I did tax paperwork and then they sent me a check via certified mail to pay for the set-up of an online office,” said Nicholas Shust, scam victim.
Shust thought everything was normal, then he started ordering things for his at home office.
“I started getting ready to acquire those items and they had pulled their check from my bank account,” said Shust.
Shust ended up losing about $1,000 dollars. He said he never thought he would be a scam victim.
“I’m usually vigilante when I’m online. I didn’t realize someone would go to the extent of sending certified mail to try and scam me,” said Shust.
Dollison said here are some things to look out for.
“Scammers want you to act urgently. They don’t want you to think about it, they don’t want you to do your research. They will also ask for payment in gift card or wire transfer,” said Dollison.