Recently a hacker went “phishing” to St. Mark’s emails. You may have received a fraudulent email, this time from Rev. Nancy Ross (but not from her real St. Mark’s email address). Though no one can guarantee “phishing” scams won’t happen again, there are ways to protect yourself.
Our diocesan website warns us to keep an eye out for:
- Money or information requests — St. Mark’s clergy will never ask you to buy gifts cards or money orders or ask for you to send via email or text personal information that should be kept secure.
- Urgent language — Does the email have vague but urgent language? (Example: “I’m in a meeting right now, but please send me the gift cards as quickly as possible!”)
- Fraudulent email addresses — Check the email address against what is listed on the church website.
For extra security after we have had a phishing incident, you can change your own Breeze password.
Not sure if it’s a scam? When in doubt, check first! You can always call or email us to verify if the email is real. Don’t hit “reply” to a suspicious email, but rather email us directly.
These best practices can also be applied to text scams. Do not reply to suspicious text messages. Instead, reach out directly via the contact information listed on our website.
Want to file a complaint? The Federal Trade Commission is aware that worshipers are being targeted by gift card scams: “This time, scammers are pretending to be a pastor, rabbi, priest, imam, or bishop. They’re asking worshipers for gift card contributions for a worthy cause. Appeals are often made by email, but we’ve heard people are also getting texts and phone calls, too.” Click below to learn more and report a scam.
