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BBB: New Scam Buster Interactive Video For Teens

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BBB

Another tool for school children goes virtual.  The Better Business Bureau serving Western Michigan recently changed it’s in person scam-busters program for high school students to an online program.

But, whether in person or virtual, it provides the same lesson which is to keep young people from getting scammed. 

“We know that young people are the ones most likely to lose money to scams.”

Troy Baker is with the Better Business Bureau of Western Michigan.  He says in 2019 they started a BBB program called “Scam Busters”.  It’s aimed at high schoolers.  They’d go into schools to teach them how to avoid getting scammed.

“We’d go in and do it in person traditionally and it’s a game atmosphere and we’d give students a scenario that may or may not be a scam and they have to figure out is this or is this not a scam. And we’d teach them what to watch for.”

But, like so many programs before them, Scam Busters had to go virtual due to the coronavirus.  So now, while a few may let them come in most are using the online zoom classes.  But Baker says to make it even more convenient, they just released a new interactive video version of scam busters.

Teachers can assign this out, and they don’t need somebody there live or to book an hour period to do it, they can do whatever fits their schedule best.”

Baker says while they target high schoolers, middle schools and or community groups can also use the free program.  Last year, baker says they presented to about 25-hundred students and with the new video, they can likely expand their audience.

“Really get before as many students as we can so that they can stay safe and be wise consumers.”

Baker says you can find the program at bbb.org/wmiprograms.

Jennifer is an award winning broadcast news journalist with more than two decades of professional television news experience including the nation's fifth largest news market. She's worked as both news reporter and news anchor for television and radio in markets from Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo all the way to San Francisco, California.