It has come to our attention that fraudulent “phishing” emails have been sent to ICOMOS leaders and members under the guise of a request for funds from Teresa Patricio, ICOMOS President. Phishing is defined as “the fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.” Your can learn more about phishing here.
Do not, under any circumstances, respond to these emails. ICOMOS has requested that you report these emails directly to gmail as follows:
- On a computer, go to Gmail.
- Open the message.
- Next to Reply
, click More
.
- Click Report phishing.
Please take care in all of your electronic communications. As our graphic above recommends,
- Think before you click: scammers create a false sense of urgency. Slow down before you respond.
- Check the sender’s address: is the address from an official organization? An email from ICOMOS will end in @icomos.org. An email from us will end in @icomos-usa.org or @worldheritageusa.org
- Don’t click strange links: does the link go to the address to a reputable address familiar to you?
- Don’t download files: never download a file from a source you don’t absolutely trust!
- Look for spelling errors: these are often clues that a request is fraudulent
If you have any questions about an email regarding ICOMOS, don’t hesitate to call us at +1 202-463-1291.