Columnist
Randy Hutchinson is the President and CEO of the BBB of the Mid-South, serving 28 counties in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. He graduated from Western Maryland College and has an MBA from Wilmington College. He can be reached at rhutchinson@bbbmidsouth.org
There are 93 articles by Randy Hutchinson :
A 2025 study by the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank found that BNPL borrowers are typically female, younger, renters, and less educated; but, surprisingly, have higher household incomes.
“Consumers have been scammed out of tens of millions of dollars in recent get-rich-quick schemes.”
“Checking out a company anywhere in the country on bbb.org is quick, easy and free.”
The FTC complaint says the defendants took in millions of dollars impersonating other clinics. It alleges that as a result of these deceptive tactics, many consumers were deterred from seeking admission at the clinics they were actually trying to contact.
Click Profit advertised that its business opportunity was “safe, secure, and proven to generate wealth” that would outperform traditional investments.
The red flags of a vehicle and equipment seller scam include the price being significantly below market value, the owner citing an overly personal reason for getting rid of the vehicle, and not being able to see the vehicle before sending money.
The Ophthalmic Practice Rules were created to let consumers comparison-shop by insisting prescribers put prescriptions in patients’ hands before they buy corrective eyewear.
“Poisoning from edible cannabis products doesn’t typically result in serious problems for adults, but can cause more severe reactions requiring medical attention in children.”
“The Federal Trade Commission says consumers reported losing $110 million to Bitcoin ATM fraud in 2023, a tenfold increase over 2020.”
Reports from the Council on Foreign Relations and the United States Institute of Peace say some overseas call centers are staffed by people who have been trafficked or lured in by fake job ads.
“About 30% of online reviews are fake and cost U.S. businesses nearly $152 billion per year in damaged reputations and lost revenue.”
Consumers pull more Better Business Bureau reports on roofers than other kinds of businesses. Some who don’t later wish they had.
Anyone can be a victim of this crime, but teenagers are the most vulnerable. And the results can be deadly.
A Florida woman claimed to have more than 10 years of experience in grant writing. In reality, her last known employment was at a Krystal, and she was on probation for stealing cash deposits from it.
The Better Business Bureau warns businesses and nonprofits to be wary of emails with anything other than .gov in the address.
Before enrolling in a for-profit school, make sure it is legitimate.
A recent study found 81% of the public say the potential risks they face because of data collection by companies outweigh the benefits.
Experts agree that the best advice is to not consume cannabis edibles in front of children, which can make them seem OK, and to not have them in the home.
Personal information collected in an app could be misused despite data broker’s promises and privacy policies, so businesses must be sure the benefit of using it is worth the risk.
Personal finance apps like Brigit may be new, but established consumer protection principles apply.
Study after study show that 123456 is one of the most common passwords. Others in the top 10 include 12345678, qwerty (the first five letters on a keyboard), ********, 1q2w3e (check your keyboard to see why) and the word “password” itself.
Even if you’ve determined a business opportunity is legitimate, be sure it’s right for you. Ask what you’d be selling or doing, how shoppers would find you, what your expenses would be and when you could expect to turn a profit.
Charles Ponzi gave his name to a type of investment scheme, but they were around before him and are with us still. Here are some red flags from the SEC and BBB.
“Check washing” is a crime the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network says is surging despite the fact that the use of checks is declining.
“Doctors peddling phony promises should know that the FTC will use its strengthened authority from Congress to stop them from exploiting Americans struggling with addiction.”