As Americans increasingly continue to donate funds to organizations aiding Ukraine, Church Mutual Insurance offers church organizations the below 4 tips to safeguard member personal information:
- Communication – Tell members your authorized methods of giving. Frequently communicating your methods of giving has two very important functions. First, repetition may result in increased giving. Second, members are more likely to identify when something isn’t right. The more they know, the more they can advocate for themselves when they receive a communication asking for money that comes from a suspicious source.
- Education – Tell members who will be their point of contact for donations and how to spot fake requests and report any suspicious requests. You should limit the number of people who have contact with money — even online — so you can easily track it. Whether it is a staff member or volunteer who handles electronic giving, your members should have that person’s contact information and feel comfortable asking questions.
- Smart – As an organization, stay current on cyber-theft trends. Every year, cybercriminals become smarter — and so should your organization’s leadership. Make sure you know about the most common types of cybercrime. Cybercriminals use many forms of trickery to incite emotion in their victims, everything from heartbreaking victim stories to tax rebate checks or winning prizes, hoping to trick victims into sharing their personal or bank information.
- Action – Put cybersecurity measures into practice through existing tools and providers. Important things to consider: password protection, restricting access to your network and backing up critical information.
