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From small landscaping companies to multinational corporations, Better Business Bureau has seen impostor scams affect businesses regardless of size or industry. Impostor scams can do significant harm to a business’s reputation and customer relationships.
Even the BBB brand has been mimicked to deceive consumers. Scammers posed as BBB in an elaborate scheme with the intent to steal personal banking information. The scammers impersonated IT professionals and linked to a fake website that mimicked the appearance of BBB.org.
After being affected by an impostor scam ourselves, BBB put together this guide to help businesses uphold their trustworthy reputation.
Maintain open communication with the public
Monitor communication channels, including social media messages, comments and voicemails for important information, and make it easy for customers to reach you by offering multiple points of contact. These channels provide a convenient way for consumers to get answers to their questions, and they keep you informed about the public image of your business. In fact, BBB learned about the scheme using our brand identity thanks to our consumer phone hotline.
Find out exactly what happened
Thanks to a tip from a concerned consumer, BBB was able to take immediate action. Our first step was to contact the affected consumer to assess the situation and advise them on what actions they should take. During the conversation, we gathered as much information about the scheme as possible. We sought to identify what method of communication was used, what the scammers wanted to gain and how victims were being deceived. Gathering this information allowed us to identify what steps we needed to take to protect our brand identity and provide meaningful advice to consumers who may encounter the scheme.
Describe the situation to your stakeholders
Next, BBB crafted a clear and concise message telling people how to identify the scheme, what to do if they encounter it and briefly explained the actions we’d pursue in response.
Then, we shared this message with our community across social media and to our email subscribers to inform a wide breadth of stakeholders. We did those not only to prevent our community from falling victim to the scheme but also to assure them we are committed to protecting our reputation as a trustworthy source of information.
Contact legal counsel
Finally, take action against the scammers. In BBB’s case, we contacted our legal counsel for assistance in having the fake websites removed. Legal counsel can provide much needed help in enforcing protection of trademark properties. If you have not trademarked your brand identity, they can still provide helpful guidance on removing impostor websites and offer guidance on what you should do to prevent further scams.
Impostor scams like these reveal just how important it is for trustworthy businesses to educate customers about fraud prevention. BBB recommends businesses educate their community about scams common within their industry and offer resources consumers can use to protect themselves. Taking proactive steps to educate your customers about fraud not only helps to protect your brand identity but also strengthens your reputation with customers.
For more Information
If your business is the target of an impostor scam or if you know another company that has been impacted, let BBB know. Report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker, and share BBB’s tips on social media to help protect your customers from scams.
For more information, read Impostor Scams: Who’s Really Contacting You?.
BBB of Greater Maryland contributed to this article.