CRICKET CLUBS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE ONCE AGAIN BEEN TARGETED WITH A VERY BELIEVABLE EMAIL SCAM.
In the past clubs in Devon, Somerset and Gloucestershire have actioned the email due to its honest seeming nature and as a consequence have lost considerable amounts of money.
The nature of the scam is that an email is sent from the Chairman (or other senior officer) of the club to another committee member, usually the Treasurer, requesting they make a payment by bank transfer – the correct email addresses are shown and the appropriate names of Officers are used making the scam look very convincing. In some instances we are aware that reminder emails are being sent a day or two later to make the emails look even more convincing.
Please can all clubs be highly diligent if you receive such a request from any officer in your club. If you receive a message of this type, or of a similar nature that purports to be from a club, league or board official, check that the email address from which it originates is the one by which you know them. We would advise that If you have any doubts about the authenticity of the message then contact them directly by phone to make sure that it is a genuine request before making any payment.
There is a very useful governement website here where you can learn more about cyber security and avoiding scams and hackers. They recommend 6 key actions:
- Use a strong and separate password for your email
- Create strong passwords using 3 random words
- Save your passwords in your browser
- Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)
- Update your devices
- Back up your data
If you recieve a suspicious email you can forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. Find out more about reporting emails here.
If you are out of pocket due to a scam email please contact the police on 101 and if you receive an email that looks suspicious you can report this to Action Fraud. Please also report any such incidents to info@devoncricket.co.uk so we can publicise any future versions of the scam to the cricket network.
