For over a century, the Better Business Bureau has been helping consumers identify unscrupulous business entities. Now, they are offering an online service that aims to share that information at a quicker pace.
The new service is called Scam Tracker.
"This is an online tool for people to report scams, cons, ripoffs, unscrupulous behavior out there in the marketplace," said Peggy Penders, Communications Director for the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York.
Anyone contacted by a potential scammer is encouraged to check out Scam Tracker.
"Not only for the Better Business Bureau to actually investigate some of these issues, but to educate the public about these activities," Penders said.
The Scam Tracker is searchable by keywords, scam type, state and date range. An interactive map shows the location of scams.
"Often times scams will move about in waves so (with the map) you can see trends about where things are happening."
Based on early indications, the Better Business Bureau appears to have met a consumer demand with Scam Tracker. Though the feature went active recently, Penders says it is "adding 30 reports a day."
