New phishing scam uses church pastors’ names as bait
To combat these scams, please let your staff and congregation know that you will never request funds by email, or that any request must be verified by phone with the person involved. Emails from the Presbytery Staff will come from our domain @denpres.org. Look for your churches domain, if you have one when receiving a request involving money or gift cards.
Saving yourself from potential rip-off is easy, says the FTC
An old email phishing scam targeted at church-goers has been picked up and dusted off, hoping to find new victims it didn’t hit the first time around.
The basics of the scam are that church members get an email from their minister requesting for them to make a contribution to the church by buying and sending in gift cards.
Be cautious
Despite the lack of confidence consumers have in the government, the government can actually be of help in situations like this -- especially the consumer friendly Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The agency has three important recommendations that might save you, the consumer, from being ripped off.
Don’t text back. Legitimate companies won’t ask you to verify your identity through unsecured channels, like text or email.
Don’t click on any links within the message. Links can install malware on your device and take you to spoof sites to try to get your information.
Report the message to your cell phone carrier’s spam text reporting number. If you’re an AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, or Bell customer, you can forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) free of charge.
The best advice might be to forward any suspicious emails or texts to the FTC via spam@uce.gov. The FTC recommends that you also cc: the organization impersonated in the email/message -- a step that might give the scammer some pause before going ahead with their scheme.
If at all possible, include the full email header. Header information is typically hidden, but a quick search for “full email header” and the name of your email service (for example, Yahoo) will give you the steps necessary to find that information.
Resource: www.consumeraffairs.com