Beware of fake complaint reports coming from seatac@bbb.org
Better Business Bureau is warning businesses to beware of a new malicious e-mail that pretends to be from BBB about a complaint filed against the company. The e-mail first came to BBB’s attention on April 12, 2010.
Several businesses across the US--including law firms, advertising agencies and architecture firms--have reported receiving a suspicious e-mail from the address seatac@bbb.org with the subject line “BBB Complaint Case #” followed by a nine-digit number. Both BBB Accredited and non-Accredited businesses have been targeted.
The body of the e-mail claims that the company did not respond to a complaint filed by a Jason Harlow (however other names may be used) and includes a link to a page at www.ca-bbb.org where the business can supposedly review the complaint.
Because the message is fraudulent, 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,
- Forward the message to phishing@council.bbb.org,
- Completely delete the message from your inbox, and
- Run a full virus scan on your computer if you did click on any links.
If you receive an e-mail from Better Business Bureau about a complaint filed against your business and need assistance in determining whether or not it is legitimate, contact your local BBB directly at http://www.newyork.bbb.org.
For more advice on how to protect your business from malicious online attacks visit www.bbb.org/data-security/.
A copy of the actual e-mail follows:
