Nicole’s e-Pistle
August 27, 2025
Greetings, Friends!
Many of you have reached out to me in the last week after a phony email went out to the congregation. I want to assure you once more that I will never ask you for any personal or “discreet” information, especially via email. We are looking at potentially removing the church directory from online access for a while, even though it is password protected. I am not sure how church members’ email addresses were accessed, but it appears that there was no risk unless you responded to the email. As far as I can tell, nearly all of you noticed that the wording sounded strange and unlike me (thankfully), and those of you who were not sure called me to verify whether I sent the email.
Just a word of caution to everyone – if you ever receive a phone call or email from people claiming to need confirmation of your bank accounts, credit card information, birth date or Social Security numbers, etc., I recommend that you hang up the phone and call your organization directly. For example, if someone claiming to be with your credit card company asks you to verify your whole card number with expiration date and security number, let them know you will call them back. Then hang up and call the phone number that is on your statement or actual card. You’ll likely discover the real company did not initiate the call and you successfully avoided being scammed!
As for emails, always look at the actual address. Often, scam emails have random letters and numbers, rather than legitimate email addresses. However, as in the case this past week, the scammers got sneaky. The fake email address was similar enough to my real email that several people thought the message was actually from me. However, they misspelled my last name and spelled Dalton as “dation.”
Once, I almost fell for a scam on my computer that appeared to be the correct response to an attempted scam! (How’s that for confusing?) A pop up emerged with sirens and flashing red lights, saying that hackers were attempting to gain access to my computer. The pop-up claimed to be Microsoft Security software, instructed me NOT to shut down my computer and to call the customer service number listed on the pop-up. It had the correct Microsoft logo at the top, so I trusted it. I called the number, gave the “service representative” remote access to my computer, and even paid for the upgraded software by giving the rep my credit card information! It wasn’t until he instructed me to pull up my bank account on my computer screen (while he was still able to see everything from his remote access) with the excuse that he needed to see that the money had cleared my account before he could install the software. That is when the red flag shot up like a rocket! There was absolutely no reason a legitimate customer service representative would ever need to access my bank account online through remote control access! I confronted the guy on the phone who became extremely unprofessional and pushy very quickly. As soon as I said I was going to report the phone number as a scam, he hung up. I shut down my computer and immediately called my bank’s customer service number. Luckily, their system had flagged my transaction as suspicious, so it never cleared my account. (Whew!)
The Bible warns us about false prophets and wolves in sheep’s clothing. With advancements in AI technology, I worry that scams such as these will get harder and harder to avoid. When in doubt, double check with the people you trust. Your phone calls, texts, and emails are never a bother! I love how well this congregation cares for one another, and I truly believe there is nothing we cannot face when we stick together. Our faith in God and our commitment to love first and love all is a foundation built on solid rock. I love all of you very much, and I am so glad to be part of this community! Stay safe!
Blessings and peace,
