Another Email Phishing Attack Uses U.S. Dept of Justice Name

BBB Urges Businesses to Report Suspicious E-mails

DuPont, Wash.,—November 16, 2007—Another phishing attack is hitting local and national businesses. Much like the phishing e-mails that used the Better Business Bureau name last spring, the U.S. Department of Justice recently confirmed that another phishing e-mail attack using the DOJ name has been reported by over 1,000 callers in the past two days.

Phishing e-mails are often used to entice recipients to access potentially damaging hyperlinks in order to steal personal information. The DOJ instructs anyone who has received this most recent e-mail, or a similar one, to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. An example of the recent phishing e-mail is included below.

In order to combat these recent phishing e-mail attacks, your local BBB offers the following tips:

• Do not be fooled by the use of a legitimate organization’s name within these messages. Scammers have been known to use the Department of Justice’s name and the BBB name as well as the names of banks and other legitimate companies.
• Do not click on active links or open any attachments within the e-mail. These links and attachments often contain viruses which can damage your computer.
• If you have already clicked on a link or opened an attachment, your computer’s security may have been compromised. Have your company’s IT person or a computer expert look at your computer.
• Be sure to have updated firewalls and spam blockers installed in your computer.
• Report any suspicious e-mails to the FBI by filing at www.ic3.gov.
• Visit www.bbb.org to find out more about recent security alerts.