Scam Alert!

Attention Northpointers! It’s been reported to us that a number of you have received email messages from supposed friends asking for help. Carolee in the Church Office got this: “Hello, How are you? I need a favor from you. Thanks.” The email appeared to be coming from her friend. After all, the friend’s full name appeared in Carolee’s inbox and on the message. And the email address looked real. Intrigued, Carolee quickly replied, “What do you need from me?”

A few minutes later, the friend sent this: “Nice to hear from you. I need to get Apple gift cards for my friend who is sick (she is down with cancer of the Liver). She goes in for a major surgery tomorrow and I already promised her this, but I can’t do this now because I’m currently traveling. Can you get it from any store around you? I’ll pay back as soon as I am back. Kindly let me know if you can handle this so I can tell you the amount and how to get them to me. Thanks.” 

“Nope,” Carolee thought to herself. “This isn’t real. That’s not my friend! This is a scam.”

She was right. Someone had hijacked the friend’s email account and was attempting to scam people on the friend’s contacts list. Had Carolee complied with the scammer’s request, at some point, she would have been asked to give the scammer the numbers and pins from gift cards. The scammer would then be able to redeem the cards for products and services.

If you think someone is trying to scam you in any way, let us help! Don’t hesitate to contact Carolee Jefferson or Bob Brown in the Church Office at 951.734.1335.