The Better Business Bureau is warning real estate offices and agents about a phishing scam that targets them.

The scam involves fake Better Business Bureau emails that claim a company is being investigated, and threaten legal action if the receiver does not respond with more information. Links in the emails lead to websites that ask for detailed financial information, and some of the emails contain attachments that may include viruses or other malware.

"Better Business Bureau is frequently spoofed by scammers and other criminals, because we are a trusted source and the recipients are more likely to open the emails if they have the familiar BBB name and logo," Carrie Hurt, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), said in a statement. "We have a vigorous program to detect these phishing campaigns as soon as they start, and we have been successful in shutting down more than 175 fraudulent websites in the past 18 months."

CBBB is working with a professional deactivation service to have the fraudulent websites taken out of service, an action that normally takes less than a day and sometimes is as quick as one or two hours.

"We are taking an extra step this time to warn real estate agents and offices, because we haven’t previously seen one specific industry targeted like this," Hurt added. "The fraudulent emails have been sent to real estate offices across the United States, from New York to Phoenix, but Clearwater, Fla. seems to be specifically targeted."