Common Red Flags to Help you Identify Phishing Emails and Texts
- The email address contains a random mix of letters and numbers
- The text is from an unknown number
- The email or text contains typos or odd language
- The email or text asks you to buy something
- The email or text asks you to provide financial information
- The email or text asks you to provide personal information about yourself or someone else at the church, especially the senior/executive pastor, a decision maker, etc.
- The email or text asks you to download an attachment or click a link — if someone you do not know is asking you to do either of these things, that is suspicious!!!
- The email or text asks you to purchase gift cards (iTunes, Apple or other gift cards) and then send the activation code on the back of the gift card
One tip for preventing these types of emails from ending up in your inbox in the first place is to avoid posting your staff email addresses on your website in plain text or with an email link. Cyber criminals can easily crawl your website for email addresses, so if you include everyone’s information in an online staff directory, you are making yourself an easy target for receiving these emails. An alternative is to only have one general email address on your website that all online inquiries go to. Whoever manages that email address can forward requests accordingly, and this person needs to be sure they are trained in cybersecurity and hyper-aware when sifting through emails.
Sample Bulletin Announcement about Emails or Texts Impersonating Priest or Someone from the Parish
By policy of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, priests and deacons will not request financial assistance for their personal needs (cash or gift cards) from you via text message or email. As many have posed as our clergy while trying to scam parishioners of funds, we urge individuals to first verify they know the sender before ever giving money. If you are in doubt, please call the parish’s office.