ST. LOUIS — As more people are getting scammed, the Better Business Bureau launches a new online resource aimed at helping people who might need support.
The BBB launched the Scam Survival Toolkit which connects people with resources to help restore their financial, mental, and emotional health.
“When a person is targeted by a scam, they’re not only impacted financially, but in other ways as well,” said Melissa Lanning, executive director of BBB Institute. “We know from our research that they can also experience stress/anxiety and loss of confidence, as well as an impact to their financial stability and credit health. With more and more people being impacted by scams, we need to work together to help them in all the ways they need assistance.”
The BBB says nationwide, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that scammers stole between $21 billion and $137 billion in 2022, with between $6 billion and 48 billion stolen from adults 60 and older.
The toolkit is also designed to help scam victims with their mental health. It can be found on the homepage of BBB Scam Tracker and provides tailored guidance and resources based on a person’s specific situation. It includes steps they should take to prevent further financial impact and guidance for restoring their long-term financial and emotional well-being.
The new online resource was developed with input from a wide range of subject matter experts, including mental health counselors, fraud prevention specialists, and cybersecurity professionals.
Recent research published by BBB Institute highlighted the broad impact of experiencing a scam incident from feeling anger, confidence loss, guilt, or even strained relationships or reputation loss from being scammed.
