Beware of this email scam that is making its way around to local business owners. A website called businessrecognition.org is sending local business owners an email saying that they have won the “2013 Best of (random city) Award” selected by the (random city) Awards Program.
The award will include a link where you have to pay to get a copy of their “press release” that they will publish in your honor. This press release is nothing more than a PDF or Word document. The award boasts that it annually honors the best local businesses in your area. A quick search of their domain on who.godaddy.com shows that the domain was only created recently, (Nov 2013)
Here is a screen shot of a press release they will send you.
You should never have to pay for an “award”. If you do, that is an easy red flag to check the legitimacy of the organization giving you the award. A quick google search of the website will give you multiple results of people claiming it is a scam.
By Tony Fong