Regarding Scam Attempts

Unfortunately, we see that malicious individuals and organizations regularly attempt to prey upon church congregations.

REPORT INCIDENTS TO MPC

If you’ve encountered a scam related to McLean Presbyterian or its ministries, please submit this form so we can track these incidents and put responses in place that reduce the reach of bad actors to our church members and ministry partners.

SCAM TACTIC: Impersonation

A common scam tactic is to impersonate a church officer, staff member, or congregant via email or text and solicit “private” or “confidential” financial assistance from congregants. Often, these emails can even appear to be from official church email addresses.

• • Our Deacons’ Fund is the only means by which private support is extended to individuals with temporary financial needs.
  • No pastor, officer, or staff member will ever privately solicit gift cards or cash cards from members or congregants. Be on guard against emails, texts, or calls (even if they sound or appear legitimate) that ask for personal information, money, or gift cards. Trust your gut! If anything feels “off” about the situation, it probably is.
  • If you are ever asked to privately or confidentially financially assist anyone in the congregation, please immediately call 703-821-0801 or email [email protected].

SCAM TACTIC: EMAIL ATTACHMENT

Another common scam tactic is to send an email with an attachment that contains harmful software.

• You should never open an attachment you are not already expecting or from an email address you do not recognize.
• Report such emails as phishing to your email provider and immediately delete without replying, forwarding, or otherwise interacting with the scammer.

GET EDUCATED & EQUIPPED

The Federal Trade Commission has an article on recognizing and avoiding phishing scams: https://tinyurl.com/ftc-phishing.