Iowans are being warned about a new email scam that’s part of what’s considered a widespread “phishing” attack by identity thieves.
Jim Temmer, with the Better Business Bureau, says the crooks are sending out emails that appear to be from his agency. “No way did these come from the Better Business Bureau,” Temmer says. “It’s an out-and-out scam.”
The emails are being sent primarily to businesses but they might turn up at home as well. They contain malware that can infect your computer with a virus in addition to harvesting important personal and financial data.
“Keep a close eye on your bank statements for any unexpected or unexplained transactions,” Temmer says. “Unfortunately, if some of these programs get into your computer and you’ve got banking information on there, they can capture all of that as well.” It’s recommended you don’t open email from strangers and certainly avoid opening any attachments.
“What you don’t want to do is click on anything in an email that you cannot verify when you don’t know who the sender is,” Temmer says. He says consider running your anti-virus software to be on the safe side.