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BBB of Upstate New York proudly serving region for more than 100 years

For over a century, the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York has been a trusted resource for both businesses and consumers. Since 1923, BBB of Upstate New York has grown to serve a 48-county region across the state, including the major cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany and their surrounding communities. 'While the marketplace has changed over the past 100 years, our mission has not,' said Warren Clark, President and CEO of BBB of Upstate New York. 'We are proud of our daily efforts to promote trust in the communities we serve along with our efforts to educate the public on scams and fraud.' How BBB Accreditation Can Benefit Your Business BBB of Upstate New York offers Accreditation to businesses of all sizes across all industries. Some of the benefits to BBB Accreditation include: According to research conducted in 2023, over 80% of consumers would choose a BBB Accredited Business over a non-Accredited Business with the same A+ letter rating. Respondents to the survey also shared that trustworthiness, reputation, and reduced risk were the top 3 reasons they turned to BBB Accredited Businesses. 'For businesses, earning the BBB seal is one of the highest symbols of trust they can show current and future customers,' Clark said. 'We believe BBB Accreditation is one of the most powerful tools in the marketplace, and we encourage businesses across Upstate New York to apply. Consumers have tons of information at their fingertips in this day and age, and we know they are looking to us for information on who they can trust. The BBB seal helps your company stand out as one of those trusted organizations.' How BBB Helps Consumers BBB also offers a wide range of services to consumers, including tips and educational resources to help people protect themselves from scams. Most recently, the team at BBB of Upstate New York has launched a program to protect high school and college students from a variety of scams targeting them. 'Our data shows us that 18-24-year-olds are losing nearly as much money to scams as older generations,' said Clark. 'Our team has put together an interactive presentation to keep students engaged while teaching them how to protect themselves from the evolving list of scams we hear about on a daily basis.' Some of the topics covered in the student scam and fraud program include employment scams, college admissions scams, online shopping scams, social media scams, phishing scams, and how to identify content and images generated by Artificial Intelligence. Additionally, BBB offers presentations to senior organizations and other community groups throughout its 48-county service area, both virtually and in-person. Presentations are regularly updated to include information on the most current scams impacting all age groups. BBB team members will work to accommodate presentation requests in any area of Upstate New York. Consumers throughout Upstate New York are encouraged to contact BBB if they have an inquiry on a particular business, would like to report a scam, or file a complaint. Through BBB's Scam Tracker, users are able to report and look up scams in any area free of charge. In 2024, more than 3 million consumers inquired with BBB. Businesses interested in BBB Accreditation should contact Nadine Tasevski at 716-276-3724 or by emailing ntasevski@