phishing
Phishing is defined as: the fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable companies (or individuals) to induce you to reveal personal information and/or make a purchase to provide your credit card information.
Email Requests:
Over the past several years and continuing as I write this, the DQN President’s name or that of another elected official has been used to ask for money, purchase gift cards, please call, etc. in attempts to get member’s personal information. PLEASE just delete these and DO NOT RESPOND! I nor any of our officers or Board members will ever ask for money from you for any cause!
How can you determine if the email is legitimate? If you simply click on the incoming email name, it will reveal the actual address of the sender --- IF it does not include dqn in the address string, (for example: dqnpresident@gmail.com is the only valid email used under my name), or has some strange string of letters and numbers, DELETE it immediately. In some cases, you can report it as fraud by just choosing that option as you delete it.
Email Requests:
Over the past several years and continuing as I write this, the DQN President’s name or that of another elected official has been used to ask for money, purchase gift cards, please call, etc. in attempts to get member’s personal information. PLEASE just delete these and DO NOT RESPOND! I nor any of our officers or Board members will ever ask for money from you for any cause!
How can you determine if the email is legitimate? If you simply click on the incoming email name, it will reveal the actual address of the sender --- IF it does not include dqn in the address string, (for example: dqnpresident@gmail.com is the only valid email used under my name), or has some strange string of letters and numbers, DELETE it immediately. In some cases, you can report it as fraud by just choosing that option as you delete it.
marketplace ads
Also, I learned recently that at least two of our members were scammed with a response to their posting of an item in the Marketplace. As the process proceeded, it became clear that this was fraudulent. In one case, the recipient learned that a very well-known fiber artist has had her name used to scam others – this was the name used in this case. Fortunately, our members were astute enough to stop this before losing anything.
These actions raise the question as to whether we should move the Marketplace to the secure area of our website. (This has been the recommendation of the two members who were scammed.) There are pros and cons to doing this as the Marketplace was established to reach those beyond our membership.
To improve this situation, the Web Team has instituted a policy to no longer include personal information on Marketplace ads. Instead, interested buyers will have their information forwarded to the seller. By not publishing names, addresses and phone numbers of our members or solicitors (we do run ads for non-members at a fee), we believe we can mitigate the chances of these Phishing instances happening in the Marketplace while still keeping it on the public site – allowing for wider distribution and access to a broader group of potential buyers.
As the Board evaluates what action to take, your feedback is important. Please let myself, a Board member, or your Circle representative know if you want us to move the Marketplace to the members-only section or leave it on the public site with the above changes.
While technology has brought wonderful advantages to our lives, there will always be those who use it negatively to harm others. Just be cautious!
These actions raise the question as to whether we should move the Marketplace to the secure area of our website. (This has been the recommendation of the two members who were scammed.) There are pros and cons to doing this as the Marketplace was established to reach those beyond our membership.
To improve this situation, the Web Team has instituted a policy to no longer include personal information on Marketplace ads. Instead, interested buyers will have their information forwarded to the seller. By not publishing names, addresses and phone numbers of our members or solicitors (we do run ads for non-members at a fee), we believe we can mitigate the chances of these Phishing instances happening in the Marketplace while still keeping it on the public site – allowing for wider distribution and access to a broader group of potential buyers.
As the Board evaluates what action to take, your feedback is important. Please let myself, a Board member, or your Circle representative know if you want us to move the Marketplace to the members-only section or leave it on the public site with the above changes.
While technology has brought wonderful advantages to our lives, there will always be those who use it negatively to harm others. Just be cautious!
Jeanne Spala, DQN President
Aug. 15, 2023
Aug. 15, 2023
Updated: 9/3/2023 hs