...buying ads in illegitimate charity publications. "These are things people need to watch for," local bureau President Jere Bennett said. "These things happen. They go on all the time." Some of the most common scams are via the phone and come...

...east central Georgia and western South Carolina, is reporting an increased level of scam activity. Office Director Jere Bennett said the biggest problem this time of year is solicitations from bogus charities. Charities you've never heard of...

...way to tell whether the charity is legitimate, because scam artists almost never give verifiable information, said Jere Bennett, director of the Augusta-area Better Business Bureau. "The first thing I ask (the telemarketer) is to give me...

...Auto dealers (used cars) 10. Contractors (home builders). Most of them also show up on a local list provided by Jere Bennett of the Augusta Better Business Bureau, except we have a category other areas don't seem to complain much about...

...Business Bureau. The investment program has all the elements of a pyramid scheme, Better Business Bureau president Jere Bennett said. Pentagono promoters advertise it as a get-rich-quick plan that focuses more on recruiting other participants...

...dealers drew 13,566 complaints, and work-at-home companies were the subject of 215,292 consumer inquiries. Jere Bennett, president of the Augusta bureau, said complaints about automobile sales generally focus on misrepresentation of used...

...common as more telephone scam artists promise free trips or prizes only to deliver duds at a cost to the customer, said Jere Bennett, president of the Augusta Better Business Bureau. Skepticism is so great that when legitimate companies such as Jones...

...Business Bureau said. Any cash giveaway or sweepstakes offer that involves an upfront or advance fee is suspicious, said Jere Bennett, president of the Augusta Better Business Bureau. "Any time you require somebody to buy something, you run into...

...probably would've sent the money and fallen for the scam. "He couldn't believe it was a scam," Ms. Toole said. Jere Bennett, president of the Augusta office of the Better Business Bureau, said it's the same old adage: "If it sounds too...

...system. It's a boon to everybody involved -- consumers, businesses and the Bureau itself. It frees up BBB President Jere Bennett's staff to assist callers needing special help and to devote more time to some of the agency's less publicized...