Identity thieves are targeting local businesses, according to the Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina.

The BBB has gotten reports of scammers using a legitimate company's name and address to cheat people out of thousands of dollars.

Service Performance Group, Inc., a mystery shopping company based in Holly Springs, says it is one such victim.

Over the past three months, the company has received dozens of phone calls from people saying they got a letter and fake check in the mail from a company purporting to be Service Performance Group.

The letter asks the recipient to cash a two or three thousand dollar check, and wire money to the company.

The person is promised they can keep a small portion of the money in exchange for filling out a short questionnaire. When the bank discovers the check isn't real, that person is out thousands of dollars.

"It leaves me very angry, because my good name is being used for illegal purposes," said owner Jerry Gulyes. "Unfortunately, there is very little we can do about it."

Gulyes has reported the incidents to the FBI, the local police, the US Postal Service, and the Better Business Bureau.

Beverly Baskin, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau in Raleigh, said the checks should be seen as suspicious.

"Frequently the return address is in Canada, so that's a huge red flag," she said. "If you get an unsolicited check in the mail, don't assume that it's legitimate. Assume that it's not, until you can prove that it's right."

She urges consumers to check the BBB website or call the office to determine if an offer is authentic.

As for business owners, they should look up their business name on search engines like Google to see if someone is fraudulently using their name or contact information, and constantly monitor their credit reports.