Scam alerts to be aware of

Good day! A scam email dropped into my box this morning and I want to warn you about it. No, I didn't click on it, so if you are on my email list, you don't have to worry *at this time* about getting this particular scam email "from" me. However, that doesn't mean that I won't fall for a scam in the future, as scam artists seem to have evermore clever ways to fool us. If you think you can't be fooled, that's when you're vulnerable!

Because we are a relatively small organization, I haven't worried too much about it up until now. However, in addition to the fake party evite I got today, I also received a request for gift cards "from my pastor" a few weeks ago. It wasn't from her, of course. So here's the details on these scams:

Take a look at the screen shot above (don't worry, it's just a picture, not a live link to the scam site). See how non-specific it is? I'm invited to a "Special Party"!!! Woot! It doesn't have my name on it, and there is no specificity about what the party is. I've blanked out the person's name, but I have contacted them directly to let them know their email has been hacked. I'm not blaming them...this can happen to anyone! This particular scam relies on people's FOMO (fear of missing out) to get them to click on the link. This one looks as if it's using a legit service to send it, but if you hover your mouse over all of the links in the email, they go someplace else. In this case, to a foreign site  :-(

The most benign result is that you end up at a site that's just trying to get clicks. At worst, you can end up getting hacked or backdoored. DO NOT EVER ENTER YOUR EMAIL AND PASSWORD INTO AN EVITE SITE!! Legit sites do not ask for that. You've followed the link from your email, so you should be automatically in. Entering your info gives financial hackers what they want. Even worse, on some of these sites, if you click on ANYTHING, you could end up downloading malware.

Just so you know, I will NEVER send you an evite through one of these third party services, even legit ones. If you are on our list, you will get an email directly from our usual email. If you have any doubts, hover your mouse over any links to see where it goes. But seriously, I keep our email list guarded and have no intention of inputting it to a third party site. Secondly, I will NEVER ask you for emergency funds by sending you a request for gift cards, and then claim to be too busy to discuss it with you!

Please remain cautious, friends! It would really hurt me and the Stone Soup Kitchen trustees greatly if we learned that you got scammed in our name.