Although you should always use caution when opening an email, be extra cautious if you get an email purporting to be from the Valley of Boston, our staff, or our elected leadership, scammers have been impersonating us! The typical scams have been from a Gmail Account that has a Valley-related address and pretends to be one of the presiding officers, who then asks you if you can do them a favor but don’t call them because they are busy. This type of attack is called “Phishing” because they are using a person you know to bait you into their attack, similar to fishing. When interacting with anyone associated with the Valley, look for our “@scottishriteboston.org” emails or an email you already know is associated with us; we do not create new emails! Additionally, if you are ever worried that you are being targeted by an attack you can simply text, email, or call the person at a trusted contact point to check with them. Some basic tips include:
- Checking the person’s email address to see if it is correct
- Never send personal information, credit card information, or gift card information via email
- Be cautious of typos, abnormal behavior ie. the person always closes out with their full formal signature
- Do not open anything until you are sure that the person is who they purport to be
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released some helpful information and tips on these types of attacks, which can be found at the link below.
