BBB Springfield

This week Regional Director, Pamela Hernandez, chatted with the teens at the Boys & Girls Club of Springfield Risdal Family Teen Center to talk all things scams: how to spot them, how to dodge them, and the sneaky ones showing up in their own lives.

Fact: scams don't care how old you are. Scammers just switch up their tricks depending on who they're targeting. Teens need to know what they might be at risk of encountering and every teen who learns to recognize a scam becomes a fraud fighter who can pass that knowledge on to friends and family.

And getting a room full of teens fired up about scams before lunch on a Monday? Now that's a win.

Thank you to Boys & Girls Club of Springfield for inviting us in! Also, a big thank you to our BBB Accredited Businesses - your support is what makes community work like this possible.

Thank you City of Springfield, MO for sharing this warning.

A contact out of the blue pressuring you to act now by anyone is always red flag. Stop and verify. Most scams can be stopped by pausing to check it out.

‼️DON'T FALL FOR IT‼️

The City of Springfield is warning residents and businesses about a nationwide scam in which criminals impersonate local planning and zoning departments to collect fraudulent application fees.

Scammers are sending emails that appear to come from government agencies such as the City of Springfield, often using email addresses ending in .com or .com.

The emails may include invoices that look legitimate, using publicly available information and even official city logos to request payment.

In many cases, they are sent just before scheduled hearings to create a sense of urgency. In Springfield, official zoning and planning payments are only accepted on https://ecity.springfieldmo.gov.

How to protect yourself:
‼️Verify the sender's email address. Official City of Springfield emails always end in .gov.
‼️Be suspicious of emailed payment requests, especially those requesting wire transfers.
‼️Do not send payment or respond to invoices from unfamiliar or unofficial email addresses.

If you receive a suspicious email:
‼️Do not send payment. Instead, report the incident to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center https://www.ic3.gov/ and include the sender's email address, invoice details, requested payment method and any information related to your permit or hearing.

Please join us in welcoming our newest BBB Accredited Businesses!

These local businesses have made a commitment to honesty, transparency, and earning their customers' trust. We're proud to have them in our community.

Billhilly Lawncare
Colortrends Painting
Midwest 3D Design and Prototyping
Hail Unlimited, LLC
417 DEMO LLC
True Blue Roofing
Express Puppies

We look forward to your partnership and supporting your continued success!

Please join us in congratulating these local businesses on one full year as BBB Accredited Businesses:

Big Chief Roofing
Bruce R. Townley Insurance
My Car Guy Auto Group
Pristine Auto Line
Set The Stage Southwest Missouri
Bold Roofing Missouri
Old World Cottages - Design / Build
Baker Decks, LLC
Olive Branch Counseling

Earning and keeping BBB Accreditation reflects a real commitment to honesty, transparency, and treating customers well, and each of these businesses has lived out "Start with Trust" every day this past year.

Thank you for your partnership and for the trust you've built in our community. Here's to a many more milestones to come. Congratulations!