This really isn’t so much of an alert as a scam reminder. As you may know, I work at both a church and a non-profit. There’s a scam that’s been running through the church and non-profit community for some time now, but it’s a continuing one. Here’s an example of one a member got recently.
One modern challenge: scammers are utilizing various tools to connect people and institutions so they can send personalized messages like the one above. This one impersonated our pastor and was sent to a member of our congregation. It’s so easy to make these connections. These things make it that much harder to filter out the scammers.
A few details to feed your mind’s suspicions. At no org I’ve worked at or consulted with have we ever asked for gift cards. That should be the first suspicious thing. There are some additional clues, like the email address not being one he’s ever used. Of course, that requires looking deeper than many of us reflexively do. It sucks that we need to be even more vigilant and pretty much never trust an email.
The folks over at CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) have a nice guide to grow your awareness of scams. I encourage you to check that out.
This is an unfortunate part of modern life, I’m afraid. Let’s do our best to stay safe out there.
