Our parish and school office have been getting contacted by many people today trying to authenticate messages they are receiving that look like fraudulent emails. Believe me, they are!
So far, I have received one asking me to that looks like it is from and/or regarding a fellow parishioner, and the subject was ‘Professional Reference Verification.’ It wanted me to click through to fill out a form. Someone else received the same one, and when they clicked on it, their computer froze up and now they need a service call.
Others are receiving messages supposedly from or about Queens School principal Liz Hartley involving medical records. It is all false. Don’t open them. Don’t click on any links or open any attachments. Report it as spam or phishing.
Liz Hartley shared with me what someone received, supposedly from her:
Hello
I am writing to verify a reference for an applicant who has listed you in their application. Please confirm if you are willing to serve as a reference for this individual. I have attached a form to help validate the applicant’s employment and professional history. Please complete and return it at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to reach out.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Best regards,
Liz Hartley
Principal
Queen of the Miraculous Medal Elementary
811 S. Wisner ~ Jackson, 49203
517-782-2664
She did not initiate this message and you should NOT interact with the sender. Another wanted someone to click through the see medical pathology results. Common sense would make one wonder why the school principal would send a message like that?
According to our I.T. techs at Midwest Computer: This type of scam is called ‘phishing’ where they seem to be a legitimate email but have something in the email for you to click in an attempt to gather information, install bad software, etc.
Try and keep an eye out for any others and inform people to do the same. We will look into this further and see what our options are to keep this kind of stuff at bay.”
Apparently, if you click on the link, the scammers will remote in, take control of your computer and you will be locked out. Beware!
This is all becoming very random. Please be especially aware of what you’re receiving and whether it makes any sense before you do something about it. I don’t want anyone to have their computer frozen, lose sensitive data from their system or have to pay for a service call to get back into your devices. I am sorry this happens so frequently but it happens in most church and school communities, not just Catholic either.
