The 10 most popular scams from 2021. Did one of these get you?

Scammers have been notorious for taking advantage of current events and what’s in the news.

The pandemic has been no exception. It’s proven to be an opportunity for fraudsters to prey on people’s emotions.

With the pandemic also came huge increases in remote working and online shopping. Those are the things that had the greatest impact on the 2021 Top Ten Scams list.

More: You've inherited a fortune and other tall tales of the internet

We build our annual report based on data derived from BBB Scam Tracker. The 2021 report reveals, by a wide margin, the menacing problem of online purchase scams still dominates the No. 1 position for the second year in a row.

Also related to online purchases, phishing scams moved up the top 10 to the No. 2 spot.

In this era of remote working, employment scams were the No. 3 reported scam for the second year in a row.

Rounding out the top 5 are counterfeit products (also related to online shopping), and new to the list — fake invoices and supplier bills, which have increased in the remote workplace.

The remaining five scams in order are identity theft, sweepstakes and lottery scams, debt collections, tech support and the rising threat of cryptocurrency scams.

There is a lot of talk about cryptocurrency, and the BBB Risk Monitor Index rates these types of scams as high risk because people tend to lose larger sums of money.

More: Worried about scams targeting youth? Keep an eye on TikTok

Here is the complete list:

1. Online purchases. Most often fake websites – often pets.

2. Phishing scams. Clicking on scam links can lead to malware, imposter scams.

3. Employment. Scam job offers, often work from home.

4. Counterfeit products. Clothing, electronics, shoes, purses, etc.

5. Fake invoice/supplier bills. Sent to businesses who sometimes pay without checking.

6. Identity theft

7. Sweepstakes and lottery scams

8. Debt collections

9. Tech support scams

10. Cryptocurrency

I was asked by a reporter, the other day, why do these scams keep happening. The answer is simple — they work.

The crooks have been scamming people for generations. One of the terms I’ve read is “thieve and deceive”. They work hard to steal your money and or your identity. Either way it pays off for them.

So, what do we do? Let’s look at these as resolutions for 2022. They should be pretty easy to keep, compared to others you may have.

Dennis Horton is the director of the Rockford Regional Office for the Better Business Bureau.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 10 most popular scams of 2021. Did one of these get you?