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