One woman lost $9,000. Another wanted to claim her free Corvette before she discovered it didn’t exist.

This year, several people fell for consumer scams as they became desperate to get money. The Better Business Bureau’s Louisville branch recently released the top scams of 2009.

While the economy caused more people to get scammed, it also led to more scam artists.

“Scam artists come out of the woodwork when the economy is bad,” said Reanna Smith-Hamblin, spokeswoman for the BBB’s Louisville office. “The economy’s been in bad shape and, unfortunately, they’re just taking advantage of consumers that are really needy for money.”

In Bowling Green, Linda Chambers, manager of the local BBB office, received several complaints concerning sweepstakes scams. Several people received letters or phone calls about fake prizes they won. The scam artists often want recipients to wire money or send personal information before they can claim their prize.

“The lottery scams, we get calls about that almost daily,” she said. “I’ve talked to some people that wanted to fall for it, and I talked them out of it.”

It’s easy for some people to fall for those scams, especially when they are unemployed and desperate for money, Chambers said.

Several scam artists targeted job hunters, offering them a job or a job application if they released personal information, such as bank account or Social Security numbers. Scam artists then use that information to steal a person’s identity and finances.

Some scams offered people a chance to work from home through Web sites, such as Google and Twitter. Victims purchase materials for those jobs, which sometimes cost hundreds of dollars, and are never employed.

Mystery shopping scams offer people money if they evaluate customer service at various stores – but first, consumers must send scam artists money to cover project costs. Many customers have fallen for such scams as they look for ways to get extra money, Chambers said.

“More people were out of jobs this year, and more people were looking for ways to make money,” Chambers said. “So the mystery shopping and the working from home type things were more than (last year).”

BBB workers caution consumers against similar scams in 2010. The best way to avoid scams is to thoroughly check any such offer you receive. People should always check with their local Better Business Bureau or other officials before taking part in something they suspect is a scam.

Consumers should be wary of anyone or any business that asks for personal information, such as bank account numbers, or those who ask for money, Chambers said.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” she said.

The BBB’s Top 10 Consumer Scams of 2009

Source: The Better Business Bureau Louisville branch

Government Grant Scams – Scam artists offer worthless assistance on how to get government grants online, over the phone and through the mail.

Robocalls — Scam artists often claim that people’s auto warranties are about to expire or offer help in reducing their interest rate on their credit cards. Federal officials increased restrictions on robocalls in 2009.

Lottery and sweepstakes scam — Victims get a letter in the mail pretending to be from Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Clearing House or a phony foreign lottery, claiming that they won millions. The letter comes with a check that represents some of the winnings. To get the rest, the victim has to deposit the check and then wire money back to the scam artists supposedly to cover taxes or some other fee. The victim wires the money, but the prize never arrives.

Job hunter scams — Scam artists offer job hunters fake job applications in exchange for personal information, such as bank account numbers.

Google work-from-home scam — Scam artists offer victims materials to work from home using Google or Twitter, but, after the victims pay for the materials, they discover the at-home job is a hoax.

Foreclosure rescue and debt assistance scams — Scam artists offer to help people save their house from foreclosure or help them get out of credit card debt, charging them a hefty fee.

Mystery shopping — Scam artists offer people money for reviewing customer service at retail stores, but consumers must wire money to the agency “to cover costs” associated with the project.

Over-payment scams — These scams target people, such as small business owners and landlords. The scam artist pretends to be a customer and the victim receives a check for more than the amount requested. The scam artist then asks the victim to deposit the check and wire the extra amount elsewhere, but the check is fake and the victim is really wiring their own money back to the scam artists.

Phishing e-mails and H1N1 spam — Such messages pop up in people’s e-mail accounts and can appear to be from a business, a government agency or even a friend. Scam artists try to get victims to give out financial information, or they try to infect people’s computers with viruses. Advice about the H1N1 illness was a popular such scam in 2009.

Acai supplements and other free trial offers — Advertisements offering free trials for items, such as acai anti-aging pills and other miracle supplements, have popped up on the Internet, including trustworthy Web sites. Consumers complained to the BBB that the free trial actually costs them hundreds of dollars.