{"id":18876,"date":"2019-07-19T14:17:12","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T21:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=18876"},"modified":"2019-07-19T14:22:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T21:22:17","slug":"when-it-comes-to-email-being-skeptical-is-a-good-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/when-it-comes-to-email-being-skeptical-is-a-good-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"When it comes to email, being skeptical is a good practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When it comes to churches and other non-profits, fraudsters are most eager to take advantage of the benevolence and trusting nature of those invo<\/g>lved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greater Northwest Area, and the conferences therein, utilize many means of technology to communicate with those in our area. However, it is often through these same channels that criminals attempt identity theft, phishing, and other scams. It is important to stay alert when opening emails, clicking links,<\/g> and accepting follow\/friend requests on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lifewire details the various forms of email spoofing<\/a> that make it look as if a request is coming from a trusted source. A helpful article from Wired<\/em> <\/a>provides guidelines for opening emails, even if it seems to be from someone you recognize. Brazos Wellness created a list of common phishing scams in this article.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While many email\/social media scams are easy enough to spot, fraudsters who take a little extra time to try to understand the relationships present in an organization like the church can find vulnerabilities. Because of this, we are offering some helpful tips for recognizing official communications from the Greater Northwest Area and the annual conferences therein:<\/p>\n\n\n\n