Fraud warning: Beware of fake emails from the church!

Fraud warning: Beware of fake emails from the church!

Zürich, Schweiz - The diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Freiburg urges a current wave of phishing attacks. Recently, fraudulent e-mails, which are sent under false Outlook.com addresses on behalf of Bishop Charles Morerod and Vicar General Jean-Claude Dunand, have recently been received in the diocese. These messages aim to steal personal data or to cause financial damage by blackmailing money or gift cards. In a press release, the communication department of the diocese has made it clear that these fraudulent machinations are common practices that often target the church community by spending the perpetrators out and priestly pretending. So far, the fraudsters have used a variety of methods for unmistakable attacks to obtain trust.

vigilance required

The diocese calls both pastors and parishioners to vigilance and recommends that you rely on the information from the Federal Office for Cyber Security if you have any questions. The call for documentation and notification of "cyber incidents" via the corresponding registration form is intended to help prevent further attacks and to maintain trust within the community, which is strongly endangered by such incidents. In the press release, it was pointed out that these attacks can not only cause financial but also intangible damage by shaking the trust between the members of the Church.

The topic of cyber security is also important for the media landscape, since the communication of the Archdiocese of Freiburg actively creates and spreads information about current events and trends. The Communication and Media staff office plays a key role in informing secular and church media about new developments and offers training for employees. Interested media have the opportunity to enter the press distributor in order to receive access to media release and press photos. These measures not only support the internal and external communication of the church, but could also offer a certain protection against such fraudulent attacks by promoting awareness, as ebfr.de