Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona recognized ten local companies at the 2013 Torch Awards Luncheon Thursday at JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson.

The event featured Master of Ceremonies Tom McNamara of KVOA Channel 4 and keynote speaker Michael Clayton, best-selling author and leadership guru.

Winners were honored in three categories: the Ethics Award, the Good Neighbor Award, and the Customer Excellence Award:

The Ethics Award: Honors a business for its trustworthy and honorable business practices in four primary categories.

• Winner: Empire Today 
• Finalist: Patio Pools & Spas
• Finalist: Green Valley Cooling & Heating

The Good Neighbor Award: Recognizes a company that has shown a commitment to making southern Arizona a better place through community service.

• Winner: Snell & Wilmer, LLP
• Finalist: Randall & Richards
• Finalist: Nextrio, LLC
• Finalist: EffortlessHR, Inc.

The Customer Excellence Award: Recognizes businesses that have an outstanding customer service program and a history of exceeding customers’ expectations.

• Winner: Golden Eagle Distributors         
• Finalist: Pima Dermatology
• Finalist: BRAKEmax Car Care Centers

More than 70 Southern Arizona businesses were nominated for the program, which was sponsored by Rich Dad, Desert Sports & Fitness, Snap Fitness, Philip P. Pappas II, Ph.d. of Ameriprise Financial, Inglis Florists, Allegra, Nova Home Loans, Inside Tucson Business, Alliance Bank of Arizona, Sundt Construction, The Law Offices of J. Marc Montijo, Jim Click Automotive Group, and NAWBO.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2013 Torch Awards, to be held 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., May 9 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson.

Finalists for this year’s awards were selected by two panels of judges independent of BBB, representing both non-profit and for-profit organizations in Southern Arizona.

This year BBB is honoring a total of ten companies in three award categories:

Ethics Award: Honors a business for its trustworthy and honorable business practices in four primary categories. The nominated business maintains a solid commitment to ethical business practices in every aspect of its operation. This award is open to any for-profit company in southern Arizona that is in good standing with BBB. Finalists for the award are:

• Empire Today
• Patio Pools & Spas
• Green Valley Cooling & Heating

Good Neighbor Award: Recognizes a company that has shown a commitment to making southern Arizona a better place through community service. The nominated business and employees play a significant role in support of local charities or community service projects. This award is open to any for-profit business in Southern Arizona that is in good standing with BBB. Finalists for the award are:

• Randall & Richards
• Snell & Wilmer, LLP
• Nextrio, LLC
• EfforlessHR, Inc.

Customer Excellence Award: The nominated business has an outstanding customer service program and a history of exceeding customers’ expectations. This award is open only to BBB Accredited Businesses in southern Arizona. Finalists for the award are:

• BRAKEmax Car Care Centers
• Pima Dermatology, PC
• Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc.

Winners will be named at the awards luncheon on May 9. If you would like to reserve a seat or table for this event please call (520)888-6161, or visit www.tucson.bbb.org/torchawards for more information. Reservations must be received by May 3.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning of a new phishing scam is making the rounds disguised as a consumer complaint notification from the FTC. If you receive it, just hit “delete.”

How the Scam Works:

You get an email that appears to be from the FTC with the subject line: “Notification of a Consumer Complaint.” (Sample email below) The email states that a complaint has been filed against your business, and you need to review and respond to the allegations.

The email provides a link for you to supposedly click through to the FTC website and download a PDF of the complaint details. The link really goes to a third party website, and the file you download is actually malware that scans your computer for personal and banking information.

Like most scams, this one is not set in stone. Several variations already exist, and scammers will continue to alter the emails as news of the con spreads. Watch out for changes in the subject line and the complaint details. Older reports of the scam involve emails that urge recipients to call a fake FTC help hotline or complete an online complaint form.

How to Spot a Phishing Email: 

• Don’t believe what you see. Scammers can make links look like they lead to legitimate websites (as in the example above) and emails appear to come from a different sender. It’s also easy to steal the colors, logos and email header of the FTC or any other established organization.
• Be wary of unexpected emails that contain links or attachments. Do not click on the links or open the files.
• Check a link’s true destination by hovering over it and looking in the lower right hand corner of your browser.
• Try Googling the organization or the contents of the email. If the email is a scam, this is likely to reveal an alert or bring you to the organization’s real website, where they may have posted further information.

For More Information

Check out the Federal Trade Commission’s official warning about the scam.

To find out more about scams, check out BBB Scam Stopper.