Be Extremely Wary! Don’t Click on Links or Attachments
Wallingford, CT - December 4, 2012 – Phishing scams look like legitimate email, and they are getting more sophisticated every day. Their authors are trying to trick recipients into divulging banking and financial information, and they don’t mind destroying your computer to get it.
Once again, scammers are sending emails that appear to come from Better Business Bureau. They’ll tell you that a complaint has been registered against your business, or that a customer has submitted a review of your business. (It doesn’t matter that you might not even own a business.)
The email will ask you to download and complete an attached form, or to click on a link to view and respond to the consumer posting. Don’t do either!
The “attached form” is actually an executable file that will drop a nasty virus onto your system. Next thing you know, you’ll see a pop-up message that claims your computer is infected with dozens of viruses, and that will offer to clean your system for a fee. If you provide your credit card or banking information to have your system cleaned, you will not only waste your money, and the scammers will then have access to your funds and steal even more of your money.
The links in the bogus email are dangerous, as well. They look like a link to a BBB page, but the code behind the link will actually route your browser to a website where malware is dropped onto your computer.
The malware is written in such a way that it usually bypasses anti-virus programs undetected. Once the malware is in place, the scammer can sniff for your banking information including user names and passwords, and use your system to send more scam emails out to your contacts under your name.
The bottom line is this: If you don’t own a business, you can disregard any BBB email that claims your “company” has been the subject of a customer communication. If you do own a business, you can always check with Connecticut BBB to confirm the legitimacy of any email purporting to come from BBB. However, never click on a link in an email or download an attachment unless and until you confirm that it truly came from BBB.
We’d like you to send us any bogus emails claiming to come from BBB. Forward the email to phishing@council.bbb.org. Don’t worry if you receive a notification that the email could not be delivered because of an attached virus. We pull them from quarantine and examine them anyway.
Please understand that we would like to reply to each email, however, when the traffic to the phishing mailbox is particularly heavy, we might not be able to offer a direct reply. If you need personal assistance with an email, contact Connecticut BBB by email at info@ct.bbb.org or by telephone at 203-269-2700.
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Founded in 1928, Connecticut BBB is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. BBB helps consumers find and recommend businesses, brands and charities they can trust, offers objective advice and a wide range of education on topics affecting marketplace trust.
BBB also offers complaint and dispute resolution support for consumers and businesses. Today, 114 BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than three million local and national businesses and charities. For more advice on finding companies and businesses, start your search with trust at www.bbb.org/.
