Email Safety Tips

Houses of worship and similar nonprofit communities that are built upon trust have become targets for email fraud. Most of these frauds include “spoofing” (when someone sets up a fraudulent email account in the name of a trusted individual or company) and “phishing” (when attackers send fraudulent emails to trick people into revealing sensitive information). Both types of fraud are often created to make recipients feel a sense of urgency, and often request money, gift cards, or other financial information.

This year, Stony Run office staff have become aware of at least two occasions where (1) phishing emails have been sent out under a spoofed email address using Laura McGuire's name and (2) an office email address was hacked and a community-wide email with a suspicious attachment was sent.

Unfortunately, there is little we can do to prevent these things from happening, except to raise awareness within our community.

How can you protect yourself?

Stony Run Friends Meeting:

• will never send an email request for financial details or gift cards. All donations to Stony Run should be made through existing channels (online via Breeze or a PayPal contribution you yourself initiated, or by writing a check that is delivered to the Office).
• will only send you emails from an "@stonyrunfriends.org" email address.

We would like to share some simple email safety reminders:

• STOP. LOOK. THINK.
• Always check the sender's email address.
• Never respond to a suspicious email.
• Never click on a link or attachment in an email if you do not have a relationship with the sender or the email is suspicious.
• Never call a phone number listed in an email if you do not have a relationship with the sender or if the email is suspicious.
• Always separately look up phone numbers before calling and visit an organization's website by typing the URL into a browser.

What should you do if you receive a suspicious email?

• If a suspicious email is related to Stony Run Friends Meeting, please call the Office immediately. If it is a Saturday, please text or call our Facilitator on her cell phone (a text may reach her faster). Then, please forward the suspicious email to the Facilitator's email address.
• If the suspicious email is from a Gmail, Yahoo, or other account:
• report the email as fraud using the tools available online through the email provider (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) ("Mark as Spam" or "Report Spam").

Our promise to you:

The safety of our Quaker community is of primary importance to Stony Run Friends Meeting office staff. We check the links embedded within every email we send. All links direct either to Stony Run's own website, Breeze, or to the website of a Friendly organization. All attachments to our emails likewise will have been created by us, checked, or are hosted on our own website.

If you have any questions or need to report an issue, please contact Laura in the Meeting Office.