Businesses and consumers across the country have been hit by an on-going email scam that appears to be from a bbb.org address. Now, a new wave of fake BBB emails is using a different strategy to scam recipients into downloading a virus.
The New Email Scam
In this new wave, emails have a subject line reading "BBB SBQ Form," followed by a series of numbers. Recipients are asked to click on a link to update their information with Better Business Bureau. The link supposedly leads to a form on BBB.org, but it really goes to a third party website that downloads a virus on to your computer.
In addition to the new wave of emails, the original version of the email scam is still out there. In this, recipients are told that a complaint has been filed against their business, and they need to respond by clicking on a link in the email. Again, the link takes them to a third-party website that infects their computer with a virus.
What to Do
Should you receive a suspicious email, don't click on any links. You can test the links by using your mouse to hover over them. The destination of the links will appear in a small pop up box next to the link or at the bottom of the screen. See the screen shot below for an example. If the email is a scam, the website shown will not be a BBB.org URL.
After you have identified a scam, please forward the email to phishing@council.bbb.org and delete it from your inbox. Also, make sure your virus software is up to date.
If you have concerns that you might have an actual complaint, please contact your local BBB office immediately at 775-322-0657 or email us: info@reno.bbb.org.
