Officials said the most popular scam involved asked people to deposit fake checks and wire some of the money somewhere before the check ends up bouncing.

Identity theft and phishing scams round out the top three. Phishing is when emails that appear to be sent from official sources infect computers with viruses and download important information once a person clicks on them.

Officials also saw a big spike in home improvement fraud and work-at-home scams.

They said some scammers post jobs on Craigslist, trying to hire people to ship items that are actually stolen.

"It's really a function of the economy," Charlotte BBB president Tom Bartholomy said. "With unemployment at record-high levels, people are doing desperate things."

You can find more information on all top ten scams and the BBB's advice on how to avoid them here.