Even before Judas accepted the 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus, people have plotted to steal from offerings given sacrificially to God. With the advantages of today's Internet technology comes the dangers of cyber criminals stealing from the church. Criminals are getting smarter and more ruthless, and they are not attacking where the safeguards are the most secure. They are attacking where people tend to feel safe. This false sense of security leads to inadvertently providing the criminals with keys to the safe.
I am sure you have received those emails. You know, the ones that appear to be from a bank with a message indicating you need to log in immediately to address an issue. Some of them are not communicating immediate action, but they too provide a link to your bank's website. Only it is not actually your bank's site. It is a site that looks like your bank, but it is actually site that belongs to a spear phisher.
Recently CBS News aired a story that highlights how churches are becoming a growing target for cyber criminals.
Protect Your Online Banking
Dedicated Computer
Do not use email or the browse the Internet on the computer you use for online banking. This helps to prevent malware and key loggers from being accidentally installed on the computer via a link in an email message or an infected website. This does not need to be a high-end computer. All it needs to do is connect to the Internet for the purposes of visiting the bank's website.
- Be sure to keep the antivirus software up to date.
- Keep the operating system patches up to date.
- Do not let anyone use this computer for any other reason.
- Do not assign administrator rights to those who use this computer.
- Keep this computer locked in the Finance Office.
Six Words That Could Lose Your Money
- That
- will
- never
- happen
- to
- us.
Be on guard and be prepared. You never know when your church could be the target of thieves.