Scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so it’s important to approach texts and emails from unknown contacts with caution. Recently, there has been a rise in scam texts targeting parishioners and others connected to All Saints. The sender often makes an urgent request asking for gift cards or a similar cash equivalent. To be clear, All Saints' clergy and staff will never make this type of request of anyone. Never reply to, click on, or enter any information if you receive one of these suspicious TEXT messages. The best way to verify the authenticity of any communication from us is to call the church directly to confirm before replying . Please also be aware of "phishing" emails that could get sent to you. Phishing is where a scammer creates fake email addresses or phone numbers to impersonate someone you may know in an attempt to steal money or data. Never reply to, click on, or enter any information if you receive one of these suspicious EMAIL messages. Most schemes involve scammers mimicking church staff, typically posing as someone in a position of authority asking you for money transfers or gift cards. Many times, the scammers will manipulate the email address, name, or even the area code of phone numbers, so that it appears to be coming from someone you know. Even if the email or text seems legitimate, if a request seems even remotely “off” or is asking for anything from you, don’t act on it until you confirm it with a phone call ( 205-879-8651 ) or face-to-face conversation with someone at All Saints. One quick way to spot a scammer is to check the email address it came from. No matter the name, look at the email address. Emails from All Saints staff will always end with "@allsaintsbhm.org" (i.e. blandry@allsaintsbhm.org). Some general suggestions: Check sender details carefully. Any suspicious emails or text message should be investigated before replying. Pay attention to the message content, including attachments and URLs. When in doubt, call: If there are questions about any email, do not reply. Instead, call our office - 205-879-8651 Label it spam: If your email service has the ability, report the email as spam. Here’s how you can report these scams: Report Phishing Attacks: the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has an Incident Reporting page to report email phishing, as well as an email to forward them to, at https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing . Forward all emails to the Anti Phishing Working group at phishing-report@us-cert.gov . Report text scams to through the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant which helps the FTC detect patterns of fraud and abuse.