Email Safety in Our Parish

This is just a reminder to all that phishing email scams are happening on a regular basis in the Diocese of Portland. On occasion, emails claiming to come from the bishop, priests, or other staff members are received but are not actually from them. Their email has not been hacked, however, scammers have created email accounts with fraudulent information, so that it appears to be coming from a known recipient. Typically, these are coming from @gmail.com addresses. These phishing emails are attempts by scammers to trick you into giving out personal information such as your bank account numbers, passwords, credit card numbers, or to purchase gift cards.
  These signs can help you identify phishing scams:

• The sender’s email address or phone number doesn’t match the name of the company that it claims to be from.
• The message starts with a generic greeting, like “Dear customer.” Most legitimate companies will include your name in their messages to you.
• A link appears to be legitimate but takes you to a website whose URL doesn’t match the address of the company’s website.
• The message looks significantly different from other messages that you’ve received from the company/person.
• The message requests personal information like a credit card number or account password.
• The message is unsolicited and contains an attachment.

What to do:

• DO NOT send any personal information over email such as your bank or credit card accounts/passwords/login information, etc.
• You may verify the sender's address by hovering over the name or clicking the email details in the “From:” column to see the email address. As you may see, the email says it’s from Father John, but the email address listed is from [email protected]. That is NOT a valid email from Father John, who will always send emails from an @portlanddiocese.org address.
• If an email seems suspicious or questionable, always call the person or parish that sent the email to verify that they sent it.
• Hover your mouse over any links embedded in the body of the email. If the link address looks strange, don’t click on it. In general, never click links from unsolicited emails.
• Attachments that contain viruses & malware are a common phishing tactic. Malware can damage files on your computer, steal your passwords or spy on you without your knowledge. Don’t open any email attachments you weren’t expecting.

Phishers are extremely good at what they do. Just because an email has convincing brand logos, language, and a seemingly valid email address, it does not mean that it’s legitimate.
  This is a good practice to keep in mind for not only diocesan emails but also from your family, friends, or any other contacts you have.
  And please do not send any money via email if someone requests it in Fr. Dan’s name.
He would never ask something in this way if there was a need.