A new populist party riding the anger among Dutch farmers and rural communities at government policies to rein in agricultural pollution appears to be the big winner in provincial elections.

On Thursday, the Better Business Bureau serving Western VA released a statement warning Buchanan County flooding victims about people looking to take advantage of those who need help following Tuesday’s storms.

As the crisis in eastern Europe continues, you may feel compelled to donate to charities in an effort to help Ukraine, but the Better Business Bureau wants to make sure your money is going to the right places.

The Better Business Bureau is sounding the alarm on three scams you need to know about.

Tips on how to avoid a scam when looking to donate during a disaster.

There’s still a few weeks left of summer and if you’re planning a last-minute vacation, the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Virginia is warning against vacation rental scams.

With Amazon Prime Day just around the corner, the Better Business Bureau is warning shoppers about common scams they may run into.

ROANOKE, Va – As Americans across the country start to receive their third stimulus checks, the Better Business Bureau is warning people to avoid potential scams. Staff says there has been a major influx of scammers hoping to steal personal information since the pandemic started. The Better Business Bureau says you should never pay any money to get your check sooner or give out other incriminating information. “With three different stimulus payments, with all the other programs that have been in place with other concerns of people had that we saw a huge increase in complaints last year if it was almost exclusively pandemic related,” Julie Wheeler President of Better Business Bureau Serving Southwest VA said. The Internal Revenue Service does have a website that can be used to track when your payment is set to be made.

More than 46,000 scams nationwide were reported to the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker in 2020. The BBB scam tracker saw nearly 25% more reports in 2020 compared to 2019. “Locally, the (government agency) imposter scams were number one followed very close to online scams. His regret is finding out about the BBB Scam Tracker after the fact. The FTC found the gift cards scammers ask for the most are Ebay, Google Play, iTunes, Amazon and Target.

ROANOKE, Va. The national Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker shows more fraud pet website reports in April than the first three months of 2020 combined. In Virginia, 27 puppy scams were reported since this March with more than $8,000 dollars scammed; one victim is in Roanoke. A 2017 BBB study shows 80% of sponsored links for pet searches are a scam. If you see a fraudulent site, report it here on the BBB Scam Tracker. Below are BBBs tips on what to look out for so you dont fall victim to a puppy scam.