Beware of phony Better Business Bureau e-mails

The Better Business Bureau reports the circulation of a fraudulent e-mail that appears to be using the BBB's name to lure business owners into a scam.

The e-mail, which comes from the fake address seatac@bbb.org,appears to be a notification about a complaint filed against the company. The subject line reads "BBB Complaint #" and is followed by a nine-digit case number.

The body of the e-mail asks the businesses to respond to a complaint filed by Jason Harlow and asks the business owner to go to the website address, www.ca-bbb.org to respond to the e-mail. In some instances, other names were used.

Both BBB-accredited and non-accredited businesses have received these e-mails in Alabama, California, Colorado, Kentucky and Washington.

The BBB advises consumers not to click on any links, as they will upload viruses to the computer.