The Better Business Bureau today released a list of the top 10 scams of 2009 based on the types of complaints that the BBB received nationwide. Scammers targeted people who were struggling during the tough economic times including older adults, people who were unemployed, or individuals who had lower incomes. The scams often used free-trial offers to lock consumers into recurring credit and debit card charges.

“While some of the scams are on the list every year, there were a few scams that emerged in 2009 to take advantage of headline news,” said BBB President Tom Bartholomy. “Some scams were more prevalent in certain parts of the country, especially areas hardest hit by the housing crisis.” Bartholomy added.

Top 10 scams of 2009 includes:

1. Acai Berry Supplements, Teeth Whitening and Other “Free” Trial Offer Scams – Advertisements offering trial offers for teeth whiteners, acai berry pills and miracle supplements blanked the Internet in 2009. The marketing campaigns often falsely claimed endorsements by Oprah, Rachel Ray or Doctor Oz. As a result, thousands of consumers filed complaints with the BBB nationwide alleging that the free trial actually cost them hundreds of dollars, month after month.

2. Stimulus/Government Grant Scams – Even before President Obama announced the stimulus plan in February, 2009, scammers were already planning schemes to mislead consumers into thinking they could get a personal economic bailout. Offers for how to get government grants bombarded consumers via the internet, telephone and mail in 2009.

3. Robocalls – Having their telephone number on the do-not-call list did not help thousands of people across the U.S. to stop harassing automated telemarketing calls in 2009. Robocalls often claimed that the consumer’s auto warranty was about to expire or offered to help reduce their interest rate on their credit cards. The widespread use of robocalls violated federal telemarketing laws and prompted the Federal Trade Commission to file suit against the most egregious violators.

4. Lottery/Sweepstakes Scams – This scam has been around for years, but unfortunately many people continued to fall for it in 2009. It starts with a letter from scammers who are pretending to be from Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Clearing House, or a foreign lottery, stating that the recipient is a big winner. The letter comes with a check that represents a small portion of the total winnings. The “winner” has to deposit the check and then wire hundreds or thousands of dollars back to the scammers supposedly to cover taxes or other fees. The recipient becomes a victim when they deposit the check and wire the money to the scammers, only to find out that the check is fake a few days later.

5. Job Hunting Scams – Many job hunting scams that emerged in 2009 were designed to gain access to personal information such as bank accounts or social security numbers. Other job hunting scams required the prospective employee to pay an advance fee in order to be considered for the job or pay an advance fee for a credit check required for the job. This scam actually turned out to be a marketing ploy for online credit monitoring that cost the victims hundreds of dollars.

6. Google “Work from Home” Scams – Numerous Web sites cropped up in 2009 that claimed you could learn how to make money from home via Google or Twitter, and offered a free trial of learning materials. As a result, many people who complained to the BBB thought they were getting a job with Google or Twitter. However, they were actually being lured into another misleading free-trial offer and were billed every month for the materials and other fees that added up to hundreds of dollars.

7. Mortgage Foreclosure/Modification “Rescue” Scams and Credit Repair Scams – Many people who were struggling in the down economy, turned to credit repair services and mortgage modification/foreclosure rescue services in 2009. These businesses promised to repair bad credit, save homes from foreclosure or modify mortgages to lower monthly payments - for an advance fee. Individuals who were desperate for help, paid the fees, but did not receive the promised assistance and were left in an even worse financial position.

8. Mystery Shopping/Secret Shopper Scams – Consumers across the country signed up to become “mystery shoppers” and received a legitimate looking check that they were instructed to deposit and use to evaluate their shopping experience at a few stores and at Western Union or MoneyGram. A few days after “testing” the money wiring services, the Secret Shopper found out that the check was a fake and they were out hundreds, or even thousands of dollars.

9. Over-Payment Scams – Over-payment scams targeted small business owners, landlords with rooms to rent, and sellers on sites like Craigslist. The scammer pretended to be a customer, renter or interested buyer who gave the victim a “certified” check for more than the amount required. The scammers asked the victim to deposit the check and wire the extra amount back to them. Eventually, the check was returned as counterfeit and the victim was out the money wired to the scammers.

10. Phishing E-mail Scams – Phishing e-mail scams pretended to be from banks, government agencies like the IRS and FBI, or even friends. Whatever the setup, the goal of the phishing e-mail scam was to trick victims into divulging sensitive financial information or to infect the victim’s computer with viruses and malware. Other e-mail scams promoted products that would supposedly prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus.