Recently, our marketing department received an email notifying us that we were chosen to receive a “2013 Worthington Award” from the Worthington Award Program.  It was very exciting news.  It even came with a press release, so that we could share this accomplishment with the world.   But in the background of that excitement, something didn’t seem quite right.  How did we get nominated? Why haven’t we heard of this award before? And who is the “Worthington Award Program” anyway?

The website for the award program is very vague.  You can visit it here, or do a search for “award program” and the name of almost any city, and you will find an identical website. There is no address available, no contact person, and no real information about this prestigious award that we have just won.  Upon entering the award code from the email, we are taken to an order page, where we have the honor of purchasing our award.  The prices range from $80 to $200 dollars.

After doing a bit of research, it is apparent that this is a very common scam which has been targeting small businesses for years.  The point of the scam is to get businesses to buy an award, which is ultimately worthless. The original culprit was a business calling itself the US Commerce Association, which became well known for its efforts to snare businesses into purchasing their “awards.”

It seems highly likely that the people behind the US Commerce Association are the same as the ones behind the (Your City Name) Awards Program.  The content of the websites, emails, the press release, and the awards are virtually identical.  The only difference is that they are no longer associated with the infamous US Commerce Association.

Here are a few valuable tips from the BBB so that you don’t fall victim to one of these schemes:

• Learn everything you can about who is giving the award. If it is coming from a mystery company, chances are it simply wants your money.
• If you didn’t apply for an award, or the group cannot tell you how you were nominated, chances are the award is not legitimate.
• Most legitimate awards do not come with costs for the recipient. If there is a cost, scrutinize even more closely.
• Ask specific questions about how your company or organization was chosen for an award, and find out how many similar awards are given each year.
• Check BBB reliability reports at www.bbb.org or by calling your local BBB office.

• Category: Other News & Info, Whalen & Company