Phishing Scam Targeting Businesses Resurfaces - WMBB News 13 - The Panhandle's News Leader

News 13 continues to keep you up to date on scams seeking your personal identity.  Now, a heads up for small businesses and consumers about a phishing scam that has resurfaced.  Details in this News 13 Problem Solver report.

The Better Business Bureau says the phishing emails are the --fifth wave-- since last November.  In the past, the scam used the BBB name and logo attempting to look legitimate.  This new round may or may not show the Better Business Bureau logo, but does include a zip attachment.

According to the BBB, recently, a small business in Louisiana got one of the emails.  The company clicked on the complaint icon and malware was downloaded onto the company computers looking for bank account numbers and other private information.  The computers then had to be wiped clean.

If you receive an email that looks like it is about a BBB complaint:

• Do not click on any links or attachments.
• Read the email carefully for signs that it may be fake (for example, misspellings, grammar, generic greetings such as "dear member" instead of a name, etc.).
• Be wary of any urgent instructions to take specified action such as "click on the link or your account will be closed."
• Hover your mouse over links without clicking to see if the address is truly from bbb.org.
• Delete the email from your computer completely (be sure to empty your "trash can" or "recycling bin," as well).
• Run anti-virus software updates frequently and do a full system scan.
• If you are not certain whether the complaint is legitimate, contact your local bbb (www.bbb.org/find).
• Forward the email to phishing@council.bbb.org so that our security team can track the perpetrators.  If you receive a "bounce" message, there is no need to resubmit.

BBB also recommends that all businesses take steps to secure their data and the information they've collected on their customers. BBB's "data security - made simpler" is available free-of-charge at www.bbb.org/data-security.

Fortunately for the Louisiana plumbing company, the virus did not have a chance to steal any banking information.

The Better Business Bureau is serious about combating these scams.  It is getting help from the University of Alabama's Spam Data Mine, one of the nation's foremost computer forensics labs, in tracking the phishing scams that use the BBB name.  To learn more:

Http://nwfl.bbb.org/article/new-phishing-scam-hurts-small-businesses-34097