Dear Church Family,
Please always try to stay aware of the scam and cyber attack potential around us. As I'm sure some of you have read in the news, cyber attacks have recently hit the Seattle International Airport and the IRS is warning of scams that appear to be from them. There have been social security hacks and now the EPA is warning of cyber attacks on our water supply. And those are just a few of many.
Sometimes hacker communications look like they are from someone you know. It is pretty easy for a hacker to disguise themselves as a friend or relative. Always be careful of any email asking you to send money, download some attachment, or click on a link for a surprise birthday or other kind of party (again, even if it appears to be someone you know). If you are ever concerned about an email from LifePoint, please feel welcome to contact us to confirm.
Recently, there has been an email scam going around of a surprise birthday party. It is not from any one of us. It asks you to click on a link to "Open invitation." Do NOT click that button or go to any link they ask of you. This is likely an attempt to either get you to enter personal information and/or to download a virus of some sort.
If you have a good antivirus software, it is always a good idea to schedule it to run daily (especially lately). If you do not have a scanning software, a good one that is temporarily free and reputable is Malwarebytes. I will place the link below, but also feel free to do a search for it to confirm it is safe.
I know, "You're asking me to click a link and you just said not to." HA...any reputable antivirus software should do the trick. Make sure to allow it to stay current with updates as there is always a new virus emerging.
Malwarebytes can be found here https://www.malwarebytes.com/
Another way to confirm a message is from LifePoint is we always send communications in three different ways, as a set: email, text & a push notification from our app. The original intent for this was to make sure we could reach everyone effectively. Some folks have email, but never check it, and/or their email host is super strict. Most folks can receive a text. Not everyone has downloaded the app. So, we are sure to reach the church body as a whole by sending via all three methods. If you are one of those who receives communications from LifePoint by two or three of these methods, that should also serve as a reasonable confirmation that the message is truly from us, legitimate and safe.
It's a shame all of us have to remain on alert in such deceptive times, but we are here to do everything we can to protect you. Everything we utilize digitally (corporate email, accounting software, church app, online giving, and the new directory, etc.) all claim to be highly secure against breach. And we do see multiple tier login authentications to help insure security. But if hackers can breach international airports and governmental entities, well...you have to ask yourself, "What IS safe?" The bottom line is: we have to learn how to identify scams to the best of our ability and keep our antivirus software current.
Again, we are always here to help if you are ever concerned.
Please always try to stay aware of the scam and cyber attack potential around us. As I'm sure some of you have read in the news, cyber attacks have recently hit the Seattle International Airport and the IRS is warning of scams that appear to be from them. There have been social security hacks and now the EPA is warning of cyber attacks on our water supply. And those are just a few of many.
Sometimes hacker communications look like they are from someone you know. It is pretty easy for a hacker to disguise themselves as a friend or relative. Always be careful of any email asking you to send money, download some attachment, or click on a link for a surprise birthday or other kind of party (again, even if it appears to be someone you know). If you are ever concerned about an email from LifePoint, please feel welcome to contact us to confirm.
Recently, there has been an email scam going around of a surprise birthday party. It is not from any one of us. It asks you to click on a link to "Open invitation." Do NOT click that button or go to any link they ask of you. This is likely an attempt to either get you to enter personal information and/or to download a virus of some sort.
If you have a good antivirus software, it is always a good idea to schedule it to run daily (especially lately). If you do not have a scanning software, a good one that is temporarily free and reputable is Malwarebytes. I will place the link below, but also feel free to do a search for it to confirm it is safe.
I know, "You're asking me to click a link and you just said not to." HA...any reputable antivirus software should do the trick. Make sure to allow it to stay current with updates as there is always a new virus emerging.
Malwarebytes can be found here https://www.malwarebytes.com/
Another way to confirm a message is from LifePoint is we always send communications in three different ways, as a set: email, text & a push notification from our app. The original intent for this was to make sure we could reach everyone effectively. Some folks have email, but never check it, and/or their email host is super strict. Most folks can receive a text. Not everyone has downloaded the app. So, we are sure to reach the church body as a whole by sending via all three methods. If you are one of those who receives communications from LifePoint by two or three of these methods, that should also serve as a reasonable confirmation that the message is truly from us, legitimate and safe.
It's a shame all of us have to remain on alert in such deceptive times, but we are here to do everything we can to protect you. Everything we utilize digitally (corporate email, accounting software, church app, online giving, and the new directory, etc.) all claim to be highly secure against breach. And we do see multiple tier login authentications to help insure security. But if hackers can breach international airports and governmental entities, well...you have to ask yourself, "What IS safe?" The bottom line is: we have to learn how to identify scams to the best of our ability and keep our antivirus software current.
Again, we are always here to help if you are ever concerned.
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