T

he Torah doesn’
t mention digital 
security, but local rabbis have been 
targeted by recent internet scams all 
the same.
The recent rise in anti-Semitic incidents — 
both online as well as actual attacks on Jewish 
people and institutions — has 
put our community on high 
alert. So, it was not surprising 
that alarms have been going 
off in response to a spate of 
email spoofing that has affect-
ed rabbis across the country, 
including here in Metro 
Detroit although there has 
been no indication the scam was intended as 
an anti-Semitic act.
Rabbis at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield 
Hills, Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington 
Hills, Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park and 
Congregation Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield 
have reported that congregants informed 
them of receiving “spoofed” emails — mes-
sages that appear to be from the rabbis but, in 
fact, contain scams.
The email scam does not involve any 
digital hacking of the accounts of Jewish 
clergy; however, the Anti-Defamation League 
and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit have called it concerning in emailed 
statements.
The first rabbis affected by this email scam 
began reporting it a couple of months ago in 
social media groups and on their Facebook 

accounts. Several rabbis and congregations 
have chosen to inform their membership 
through Constant Contact email messages 
about the scam to allay their fears that any 
email accounts or membership databases had 
been hacked.
The scammers, pretending to be a rabbi, 
ask congregants to purchase gift cards, 
supposedly for charity. The scammers have 
created patterns of fake email addresses using 
Gmail, the free Google service, in the format 
of [rabbi’
s name].[synagogue name]@gmail.
com. The scammers then appear to track 
down members of that rabbi’
s congregation, 
find their email addresses on the web and 
send out the requests. 
Rabbi Steven Rubenstein of 
Congregation Beth Ahm was the first to 
alert his congregation via Constant Contact 
that a fake email account had been set up 
in his name. He wrote, “Some people with-
in our congregation received an email from 
an address similar to mine (but not my 
email address) and purportedly from me. 
In fact, however, I did not send that email. 
The email was sent from a person attempt-
ing to scam people out of their money … 
This is a scam and I did not (and would 
not) make a request like this.”
“This great scam works precisely because 
congregants trust their clergy,
” said Rabbi 
Debra Newman Kamin, president of the 
Rabbinical Assembly, the Conservative move-
ment’
s professional organization of rabbis. 

“It’
s a faceless crime, but it still feels like a vio-
lation if someone can get your information 
and attempt to do harm.
”
If an email recipient responds, the scam-
mers typically follow up by asking the con-
gregant or synagogue staffer to buy gift cards 
to online retailers like Amazon and Google 
Play and send them the cards’
 numbers and 
PIN codes.
It is not clear who the perpetrators of the 
scam are or whether the scams are part of a 
coordinated effort. 
The Secure Community Network (SCN), 
a national homeland security initiative of the 
Jewish Federations of North America and the 
Conference of Presidents of Major American 
Jewish Organizations, sent out an email to 
congregations around the country stating 
that these recent incidents “demonstrate a 
continued interest by cybercriminals to target 
Jewish institutions, organizations and inter-
ests with cyberattacks. 
“Leadership and security personnel are 
encouraged to review and update cybersecu-
rity policies and procedures on a regular basis 
in order to identify potential vulnerabilities 
and train staff in recognizing potential harm-
ful emails, links and sites,
” the email contin-
ued. “The SCN has been in touch with rele-
vant partners and will continue to monitor 
events and provide updates, as necessary.
” 

Rabbi Jason Miller is a local educator and entrepreneur. 
He is the president of Access Technology in West 
Bloomfield.

Scam Targets Rabbis and 
Congregants in Metro Detroit 

16 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 

Rabbi Jason 
Miller

Email 
Spoofing

Jews in the D

jews in the digital age

