The Federal Trade Commission is warning small business owners to be wary of e-mails that say they’re from the FTC.
They’re not, the agency said in a news release last week, and should be deleted, not opened.
“If you are going to hear from us, you’ll know it’s an official FTC communication,” said spokesman Jay Mayfield. The FTC is not going to e-mail a business owner from out of the blue.
The phony FTC e-mail states that a complaint has been filed against the receiver’s business. It contains a link to consumer complaints, a link to the FTC’s contact and an FTC phone number. The e-mail and everything in it is fake, the FTC said in a March 4 news release.
Anyone who opens this e-mail should not click on any links or attachments because they might install viruses or spyware.
Again, the FTC recommends, delete this e-mail.
To contact the FTC with a complaint, call 1–877-FTC-HELP.
-John Loftus
