Scamming Reports in Montana Increase

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By Gillette Vaira

Story Published: Feb 4, 2012 at 6:43 PM MDT

Story Updated: Feb 6, 2012 at 2:08 PM MDT

BILLINGS - The number of Montanans reporting scams and fraudulent activities is rising.

The President and CEO with the Better Business Bureau said they handled 6,000 complaints out of their office in 2011, covering the state of Montana, Eastern Washington, and Northern Idaho.

She said many businesses are getting phony invoices for equipment and services they never bought. The BBB is also still dealing with flooding victims in Montana, as storm chasers created fly-by-night roofing companies, leaving homeowners with shoddy repairs. The BBB is even being scammed with people pretending to be representatives of their nonprofit organization.

"But take a close look. If it looks a bit strange, most of these scammers don't spell well, so there will be spelling mistakes in the message. Don't hesitate to hang up and call and find out if it's really us," said Jan Quintrall with the BBB.

The BBB of Spokane has 130,000 businesses in their database, and 80,000 of them are reportable. Contact the BBB if you're questioning a business or think you've been scammed. Visit the Connections page for more information.

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