Beware! The BBB name continues to be used in “phishing” scams. Fraudulent emails containing malicious links and viruses have been sent to businesses and consumers around the country claiming to contain information on a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau. None of the BBB’s computer and email system are involved in this hoax. The BBB and authorities are working together to stop these continued attacks.
MOST RECENT WARNING: The BBB name is being used in a “phishing” scam in which recipients receive a message from seatac@bbb.org (which is not a real address).
WHAT TO DO IF YOU RECEIVE A FRAUDULENT EMAIL:
● Do NOT click on any of the links or open any of the attachments.
● Please help us in our work with the authorities by forwarding the email and its headers to phishing@cbbb.bbb.org. Instructions for Outlook users are below.
● Open the message (not the attachment), select ‘View’ from the menu, and then ‘Options’ from the drop down. Or, right click the message in the list of emails and select ‘Options’ from the menu.
● At the bottom of the Message Options dialogue box that opens is a box labeled “Internet Headers” which contains the information we need to track the attacks.
● Select the information in the box and copy it by hitting Ctrl-C on your keyboard, or right-clicking your mouse and selecting “Copy.”
● Close the dialogue box and select “Forward” in the message. Paste the headers at the top of the message and address the email to phishing@cbbb.bbb.org.
PREVIOUS WARNINGS
01/23/08 The BBB name is being used in a “phishing” scam in which recipients receive a message from diputes@la.bbb.org (which is not a real address and note the misspelling of “disputes”). The message is replete with grammatical and spelling errors.
12/17/07 The BBB name is being used in a “phishing” scam in which recipients receive a message from disputes@us.bbb.org (which is not a real address).
10/23/07 The BBB name is being used in a “phishing” scam in which recipients receive a message from fraud@bbb.org (which is not a real address).
10/10/07 The BBB name is being used in a “phishing” scam in which recipients receive a message from various addresses, no of which are real, and include:
● complaint@bbb.org
● idtheft@bbb.org
● onlineidentitytheft@euro-viza.com
● consumer-complaints@euro-viza.com
09/18/07 The BBB name is being used in a “phishing” scam in which recipients receive a message from various addresses @complaint.bbb.org and idtheft@bbb.org (which are note real addresses).
06/18/07 The BBB name is being used in a “phishing” scam in which recipients receive a message from various addresses, none of which are real, and include:
● complaints@bbb.org
● operations@bbb.org
● consumer-complaints@bbb.org
● complains-serv@bbb.org
● complntscentercase@bbb.org
● fraud@bbb.org
Thank you for your diligence and help in stopping these malicious attacks.
