PARRISH - The diocese has heard from a number of clergy and lay leaders that they are receiving so-called "phishing" emails that ask for money, gift cards, or other favors posing as Bishop Smith, or other clergy leaders.

The scheme involves cybercriminals mimicking church priests or other staff. Criminals typically pose as personnel in positions of authority and ask victims for money transfers or gift cards. Others ask to pay invoices or send the attacker sensitive data. In these cases, the scammers will often manipulate the "from" email address and name so that it appears to be coming from someone you know. The attacker uses a free email account and registers it with an impersonated name. They then send an email to an unsuspecting recipient asking for immediate help in order to get a task done (such as purchasing a gift card or wiring money).

Some suggestions:

• Check sender details carefully. Any suspicious email message should be investigated before replying. Pay attention to the message content, including attachments and URLs.
• When in doubt, call: If there are questions about any email, do not reply. Instead, pick up the phone and call the main number of your diocesan office or parish.
• Label it spam: If your email service has the ability, report the email as spam.
• Have a policy for clergy and congregational leaders: Let your staff and congregation know that you will never request funds by email, or that any request must be verified with the office.
• Look out for other issues: Scams are not just about emails. In recent weeks we have heard of callers reporting to be the IRS, Florida Power, or other institutions, and they have requested money. These sorts of scams also target our elderly parishioners. Always review and update your own passwords!

Going forward, if your church receives any suspicious emails, you can notify the diocesan office and the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, part of the Department of Homeland Security. Information and links are below:

• Report Phishing Attacks: the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has an Incident Reporting page to report email phishing, as well as an email to forward them to, at https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing.
• Forward all emails to the Anti Phishing Working group at phishing-report@us-cert.gov.

Questions? Call the diocese at 941-556-0315.