SCAM EMAILS WARNING:
Please be aware & don't fall for scams!
We have once again been receiving an influx of reports of scam emails that appear to come from New Hope pastors, staff, and leaders. Please never respond to or interact with these emails! Our pastors, staff, and leaders will never send emails asking for gift cards, payments, credit card info, bank account info, personal info, etc. in this way. If you receive an email you’re unsure about, the first thing to do is look at the actual email address that the email came from - not the name that appears there, as scammers can put any name they want to there (including a pastor’s, friend’s, or relative’s name). In most email programs, you can click on or hover over the name in the “From” field and it will show the actual “from” email address. If the email address does not end with @newhopefortmyers.org, then it is not from one of our pastors or staff members. You can use this same method for any other possible scam emails as well - check the “from” email address and see if it’s from an official one! These scam attempts are not due to staff email accounts being hacked. They are scammers who use their own email addresses and try to make it look as though they are coming from trusted people in order to deceive and steal. These scammers are going to greater and greater lengths to fool people, even going as far as including a photo of the person they are pretending to be. If you are still unsure after looking at the “from” email address, be safe and don’t reply to the email and don’t click links in the email – simply delete it. Better safe than sorry! You can always contact the pastor, staff member, or leader directly by calling the church office at 239-274-1230, emailing them directly through a new email (usually their first name and then @newhopefortmyers.org), stopping by the church office, or finding them at church on Sunday. Unfortunately, there will always be dishonest people trying to take advantage of others, but if you stay aware and be proactive, you can avoid being their next victim!
