Beware of faux press releases

The most basic public-relations tool could turn into a PR headache.

Just ask Richard Granville, the CEO of Fort Myers-based Yippy. His company provides Web-based products that include a family friendly search engine.

Recently, three press releases were issued about the company, but Granville says none of them was true. “Two of them reference Google and the other covers already released material crafted to look like a new release from the company,” Granville warns in a letter to shareholders.

“We have contacted the authorities including the SEC regarding these phony releases and they should be disregarded,” Granville says.

Granville doesn't say whom he suspects posted the releases, but it's fair to say that companies might want to keep track of what's being said about them online.