Better Business Bureau is issuing an urgent SCAM alert cautioning businesses and consumers about an email that looks like it is from BBB, with the subject line “Complaint from your customers.” This e-mail is fraudulent; ignore its contents and delete it immediately. If you have already clicked on a link in the e-mail, run a full virus scan of your computer.
The e-mails have return addresses that BBB does not use (one example is riskmanager@bbb.org) and it is signed with the address of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the national office of the BBB system. The e-mail contains a link to a non-BBB web site. Do NOT click on the link.
BBB is working with law enforcement to determine its source and stop the fraudulent campaign.
This is what the email looks like (click to enlarge):
BBB is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Businesses that earn BBB accreditation contractually agree and adhere to the organization’s high standards of ethical business behavior. BBB provides objective advice, free BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports®, and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. To further promote trust, BBB also offers complaint and dispute resolution support for consumers and businesses when there a is difference in viewpoints. The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, 125 BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than four million local and national businesses and charities.