JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Better Business Bureau of Northeast Florida issued a warning Monday about a new scam going around that is targeting Jacksonville businesses.
The BBB said scammers are sending out emails to businesses, using its name and logo and saying they're the subject of legitimate complaints. But in reality, it's a "phishing" scam to trick recipients into giving up valuable information.
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The emails appear to come from the BBB, but contain links to malware that can commandeer a computer and steal passwords, the group said. The BBB estimated it received 15-20 calls from local businesses about the scam on Monday alone.
Tom Stephens, president and CEO for the BBB, says the scams are searching for personal information, such as banking credentials, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers.
"If you let that monster into your system, then you're just opening up Pandora's Box for some thief," Stephens said.
The best way to recognize one of these scams is simply to look at the email address of the sender, Stephens added. The BBB only uses one address per region to send its notices. In Jacksonville, that address is info@bbb.nefla.org.
So if it comes from another address?
"It is 105 percent a scam," Stephens said.
As part of that warning, the BBB urges business owners to do take the following steps to protect themselves:
- Do not click on any links or attachments
- Read the email carefully for signs indicating it may be bogus
- Be wary of any urgent instructions to take specific actions, such as clicking a link
- Hover your mouse over any links, without clicking, to see if the web address goes to BBB.org
- Send copies of any suspicious emails to phishing@council.bbb.org
- Delete the email from your computer completely
- Run anti-virus software updates routinely
- Keep an eye on your bank transactions