He especially warned of the need for care in dealing with familiar financial transactions - where people might be tempted to click send without reading the entire email. Otherwise, he added, “they just wire the money out and it’s gone.” “Any instructions that come by email - they need to confirm them via phone call,” he said. Hughes warned that churches and businesses need to be wary because of the relentless efforts of fraudsters. Those emails are often created, he said, by taking a real email and cutting and pasting its contents, including email signatures. But he did say many of the cases of cyberfraud affecting churches are similar - often involving fake phishing emails. John Hughes III, the attorney who represents the church, declined to discuss the specifics of how the fraud occurred. The case was recently moved to a federal court in Florida. About half of the money was recovered, but the church’s insurance company declined to cover any of the church’s losses, saying the church policy did not cover “impersonation fraud,” according to a complaint against the insurer filed by the church in state court. The church lost $1.2 million to fraud in March 2022. Recovering any funds will likely be a drawn-out process, as the United Church of Marco Island, a Florida Gulf Coast congregation, has discovered. A GoFundMe campaign to replace some of the North Carolina church losses has raised $7,761, far short of the $793,848 goal. The fraud was reportedly discovered when the contractor called, asking about the unpaid bill. “It had cloned basically that email and it gave instructions on payment and included the invoice and everything.” “Immediately following that email was another email, which we thought was from Landmark,” Blevins told the television station. On September 18, 2022, Pastor Johnny Blevins of Elkin Valley Baptist Church addressed congregants visiting the site of their planned new sanctuary in Elkin, North Carolina. Johnny Blevins, pastor of Elkin Valley Baptist Church, told a North Carolina television station the church received an emailed bill from a contractor working on the church building. “We have and will continue to support our ministry partners as they seek to do the same,” Ebert said in a text message.Įarlier this year, a church in North Carolina reportedly lost close to $800,000 after receiving a fraudulent email. Mike Ebert, a spokesman for NAMB, said that agency adheres to “robust cyber and data security protocols, follows best-in-class accounting principles and internal controls” to protect donations from Southern Baptists.” This specifically includes critically scrutinizing any and all requests - even those from a supposedly well-known source - that request a shift from historical payment practices.” “We encourage pastors and churches to remain diligent with the security of their IT and financial systems. “These types of attacks continue to plague organizations of all sizes and scopes,” the convention said in a statement. They also warned churches about the ongoing danger of cybercrimes. They also said they would add to their cybersecurity, which according to leaders already included “training, regular information systems upgrades, and advanced detection software.” “ At this time, we have no reason to suspect malfeasance by any convention employees.”Ĭonvention leaders said they will honor their commitments to support churches and other ministries despite the loss by drawing on reserves. “An investigation is being launched to determine how this knowledge was gained,” the convention said in a statement informing its supporters. The fraudulent email reflected “a general knowledge of the communications and practice between the SBC entity and the convention.” NAMB logo That process was interrupted when the Florida Baptist staff received an email that claimed to be from NAMB but was not and requested funds be sent to a new account number. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement” by Constantine Campbell. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Jesus v.
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