INDIANAPOLIS — It’s a pretty bold strategy: impersonating the very agency that’s focused on keeping businesses honest and warning us about scammers and crooks.

And that’s exactly what some scammers and crooks are doing.  The Better Business Bureau is alerting us to two new imposter schemes involving bad guys impersonating them.

In one scam, businesses are getting emails that claim their company has received a BBB complaint.  After making initial contact and getting a response from the business, the scammer directs the user to click through a document to review and sign. Through that process, the hacker obtains secure information how about the business, and likely clients.

The BBB is also getting calls about a scammer posing as them when offering credit cards and loans.

In each of these scams, the crooks are using the Better Business Bureau logo on their emails and fake websites to look realistic.

While the BBB will sometimes reach out to consumers and businesses, it will never ask for passwords or information to access your accounts or devices.

If you are suspicious after being contacted by someone claiming to be the Better Business Bureau, it’s recommended that you tell the caller you will call them back. Hang up, find the phone number on bbb.org, and call directly.

And that’s another thing: legitimate emails and the website for the Better Business Bureau will end with bbb.org.  If it’s something different like “.com” or a gmail account, you should be suspicious.

You can read more about the scams and how to avoid them right now on the Better Business Bureau website.