Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020

Yesterday a series of scam e-mails went out pretending to be from Bishop Elaine Stanovsky or from Columbia District Superintendent Tim Overton-Harris. 
 
How can you recognize a scam e-mail?

• District, Conference, and Area leadership will never solicit donations or favors in this manner. Be skeptical of messages which ask bluntly for financial or material contributions and are not through our usual channels.
• Look at the actual e-mail address the message is coming from. Be vigilantly skeptical of emails coming from peculiar email addresses. Our personal work e-mails end in @umoi.org or @greaternw.org. Our bulk e-mail system (through which the newsletters and e-mails like this come) address ends in @brtapp.com 
• Is the grammar or mode of expression strange? Does the message have unusual punctuation patterns?
• Read this article published by the Greater Northwest Area in December 2019: "Nope, your pastor, bishop, etc., didn't really ask you to purchase gift cards."

Do not reply to these e-mails. Classify them as junk and block the sender.
If you are still unsure, you can contact your district office in a separate e-mail (do not reply to the suspect e-mail) and ask. Or reach out to communications@umoi.org if you are unsure.