Nancy Rollins
February 1, 2008Grand Isle voters to elect mayor
February 6, 2008
The Better Business Bureau is warning Tri-parish companies to beware of a “phishing” scam that is causing problems locally.
Recipients have reported receiving an Internet message from seatac@bbb.org; however, according to Heather Peters, branch manager of the Tri-parish BBB, the address does not exist.
Peters said the message contains a case number and an attachment or link for the recipient to open in order to view the so-called complaint. However, when the link is activated, it can contain malicious links and viruses, she said.
“We have received several calls from businesses in our area that have already received this suspicious e-mail,” Peters said. “We urge recipients of this e-mail not to open any link or attachment as this can be very dangerous.
The Better Business Bureau is working with law enforcement authorities to track the malicious e-mails. The organization asks that businesses that receive the suspicious directive forward it and its headers to phishing@cbbb.bbb.org.
According to the BBB, spoofing occurs when an e-mail address is altered to appear as if it was originated by a legitimate source. The practice is common among spam e-mailers and phishing operations.
A term coined by computer hackers, “phishing” is used to literally fish the Internet with the hope of “hooking” recipients into providing personal or sensitive information, such as login names, passwords or other data.
Peters said in a typical scam, the phisher instructs the recipient to click on a convenient link to view documents or access information that is then accessible to the phisher.
The Better Business Bureau isn’t the only organization to recently fall prey to scammers.
The Internal Revenue Service warned last week that identity thieves have been using the Internet and telephones to trick people into revealing financial and personal data with promises of tax rebates.
The Associated Press quoted the IRS as having said people are receiving calls telling them they can only receive a rebate if they provide bank account information for a direct deposit.
However, the IRS does not collect information by telephone. Also, no legislation has been passed that would allow the agency to provide advance payments to taxpayers or that specifies the details of those payments.
The scam began on the heels of a House vote last week to provide tax rebates of $600 and $1,200 for most individuals and couples, with another $300 per child. The Senate is considering a slightly different version of the economic stimulus package.
A recent e-mail circulating, according to IRS officials, warns that a person’s tax return will be audited. It provides instructions to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information.
Businesses and accountants have also reportedly received e-mails with instructions to download information on tax law changes.
Clicking on the links, however, could download “malware” onto the recipient’s computer that gives the scammer remote access to the computer hard drive.
The IRS advised people not to clink on any link from an e-mail purporting to come from the tax agency. People receiving questionable e-mails can contact the IRS through phishing@irs.gov.
Editor’s Note: Jim Abrams, Associated Press writer, contributed to portions of this story.
The Tri-Parish Better Business Bureau is reporting a “phishing” scam with a fake BBB e-mail address. When recipients click on the links provided in the message, they open malicious links and viruses, according to local branch manager Heather Peters. * File Photo
