Phishing attack continues to use BBB name as bait:
Beware of fake complaint reports coming from cencal.bbb.org
[November 23, 2011]--The Better Business Bureau is warning businesses to beware of a returning campaign of malicious e-mail that pretends to be from the BBB about a complaint filed against the company. The e-mail scam came to the BBB’s attention for the first time on April 12, 2010.
Several businesses across the US – including banks, 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 and includes a link to a page at www.bbb.org where the business can supposedly review the complaint.
Because the message is fraudulent, 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 on your computer if you did click on any links.
If you receive an e-mail from the Better Business Bureau about a complaint filed against your business and need assistance in determining whether or not it is legitimate, contact the BBB at 800-675-8118 or info@cencal.bbb.org.
For more advice on how to protect your business from malicious online attacks and data breaches visit www.bbb.org/data-security/.
Please see a sample of the fraudulent email below:
From: alert@bbb.org [mailto:alert@bbb.org]
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 6:26 AM
To:
Subject: Complaint # 22101311
Importance: High
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: http://www.bbb.org
###
If you receive this e-mail, do not click on any links, open attachments or reply to the e-mail. Instead delete the e-mail completely from your computer. If you have clicked on links, opened attachments or replied to the e-mail, delete the e-mail and run a virus scan.