Have You Received Suspicious Emails from Westminster Staff?

A number of members recently received an email claiming to be from from Pastor Eric. On closer look, these emails were not coming from Eric. They were coming from a false Gmail account, ReverendFather153@gmail.com. We’ve taken steps to stop the problem, but it could happen again. Here’s what you should know:

The church staff will NEVER email you to ask for gift cards, money, or special favors. They also won’t ask you if you’re free to communicate via email or text.

• If something in a subject line or an email looks suspicious or sounds out of character, it probably is. Read carefully.
• Check the origin email address, even if you recognize the sender’s name. You may need to click on the name for the full email address to be visible. Usually the false emails were sent from a Gmail account. 
• Remember that all church emails do NOT end with gmail.com Church emails end with westminsterpc.org. 
• Please let us know if you receive something suspicious so we can take action.
• Mark all false email as spam, phishing or move it to your junk email folder.
• If you’re still not sure about an email you received, call or text the staff member, send them a new email or contact the church office at 610-399-3377 before you reply.

Fraudulent activity increases during the holiday season, and scammers are becoming more sophisticated using technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). Stay alert!