Urgent Scam Alert: Beware of fake complaint E-Mail claiming to be from Better Business Bureau

Chicago, IL – The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns businesses to beware of a malicious e-mail claiming to be from the BBB about a complaint filed against a company. The BBB does not send complaints out as attachments.

 

The phishing email is sent from multiple e-mail addresses and has in its subject line a nine digit complaint number. BBB Accredited and non-Accredited Businesses have been targeted and some consumers have also received the e-mail.

 

The body of the e-mail states the company has received a complaint and asks the company to respond by directing the e-mail recipient to a link shown as our national website at http://www.bbb.org; this, however, is a disguised link to a third party website. 

 

The BBB advises any business that receives this e-mail to take the following steps:

• Do not click on any links or reply to the message,
• Completely delete the message from your inbox,
• Run a full virus scan immediately on your computer if you did click on any links.

If you receive an e-mail from the BBB about a complaint filed against your business and need assistance in determining whether or not it is legitimate, contact the BBB serving Chicago and northern Illinois at (312)832-0500 or info@chicago.bbb.org  

 

Phishing e-mails are a common way for hackers to get at your personal information or break into your computer.

 

“Don’t click on any links or open any attachments to e-mails until you have confirmed that they are not malicious. E-mail addresses that don’t match up, typos and grammatical mistakes are common red flags of a malicious phishing e-mail,” said Steve J. Bernas, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and northern Illinois. “Also beware of unsolicited e-mails from companies with which you have no association. Make sure you have current antivirus software and all security patches have been installed on the computer.”

 

For more information on phishing and how to keep your computer safe, visit www.bbb.org

 

Below is an example of this phishing e-mail; do not click on the links or reply to the sender.

 

—– Original Message —–

From: alert@bbb.org

To:

Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 6:28 AM

Subject: Complaint # 22127769

 

 

 

The Better Business Bureau has received the above-referenced complaint from one of your customers regarding their dealings with you.

The details of the consumer’s concern are included on the reverse.
Please review this matter and advise us of your position.

As a neutral third party, the Better Business Bureau can help to resolve the matter. Often complaints are a result of misunderstandings a company wants to know about and correct.

We encourage you to use our ONLINE COMPLAINT system to respond this complaint.

The following URL (website address) below will take you directly to this complaint and you will be able to enter your response directly on our website: www.bbb.org