E-Mail from "Forum"?

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This one aspect of our apologetics work has quickly become the most effective way we reach people with the truths of the Catholic faith.

And they want to shut us down!

Believe it or not, we now get over one million visits per month to our web sites.

If the hackers are successful in shutting us down, they will effectively block those one million visits.

Nothing would make them happier.

And nothing would make me sadder.

I’m sure you share my concern.

I’m passionate about the missionary effectiveness of our web sites. It has given us a worldwide presence and a scope of influence far beyond our dreams.

But now all of that is threatened by hackers who would love to shut down our web sites.

You Can Help!

I’m turning to you for help because I know you care about our Catholic Answers forums—and I know you have a deep abiding love for the Catholic faith.

Like me, you would hate to see the hackers prevail and destroy our web sites.

Therefore, I’m hoping that you’ll come through for us with a generous donation to help us raise this unexpected $110,000.

Our regular budget is stretched to the breaking point right now.

Having to come up with an extra $110,000 is going to take a miracle.

That’s why I ask you to say a prayer for this special project.

I also need you to make a tax-deductible donation of $50 or more—right now—so we can quickly raise the money we need to beef up our Internet security and thwart the hackers.

This isn’t ordinary security—because the threat we face isn’t ordinary either. It’s far beyond what even a regular business has to have.

But we can’t do anything without your help today.
 
Continued

So I implore you to click the link below that will take you to our secure credit card processing page—which makes it super-easy for you to make an instant donation.

catholic.com/forums/stophackers.asp

Or, if you prefer, you can call our customer service department and make your donation over the phone. The number to call is 1-888-291-8000. (And yes, we still accept donations by “snail mail.” You can send a check to Catholic Answers, P.O. Box 199000, San Diego, CA 92159.)

We are vulnerable to the hackers’ attacks right now, every hour of every day.

We have major plans to expand our web sites and reach millions more people. But we can’t do that if we don’t get the security we need today.

Can I count on you to help?

Think about it: Your gift would mean so much to the million plus visitors to our web sites—now and in the future.

As you can see, the Internet enables us to do things for the salvation of souls that we could never do before. But without the proper security against hackers, they’ll shut us down again.

Please make your donation of at least $50—or more if you can—today. It will be a blessing to millions.

Thank you, in advance, for your endless charity.
Code: 
                                                    Sincerely in Christ,



                                                    Karl Keating
                                                    President, Catholic Answers
                                                    [www.catholic.com](www.catholic.com)
P.S. The hackers who are attacking our web sites are one of the worst threats we face today.

We can’t afford to be out there, vulnerable to their relentless attacks designed to destroy our apologetics and evangelization efforts.

We urgently need your help to defend our web sites against the hackers who are trying to shut us down.

As our web sites grow in influence, the hackers will use ever more sophisticated measures to destroy our work. And that means we have to use ever more sophisticated measures to thwart them.

Won’t you help by making your tax-deductible donation today?

Thank you, and God bless!
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Mom_of_5 said:
I don’t know where to post this. I received an e-mail from “Forum” with the subject of helping to keek anti-Catholics from hacking the Catholic Forum websites. Since I wasn’t sure if this was legit, I deleted it without reading it. We get so much mail that looks o.k., but is trash and possible damage to our computer, I don’t take chances. If this is something you want us to read, will you find a place to post it?

Love and prayers,
Mom of 5
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I got that one too and immediately deleted it. I’m sure it’s junk.
 
I read the email but something did not ring true for me. I knew there was hacker trouble, but since when does Karl Keating write such short paragraphs? It did not seem to be his style. I was wondering about the legitimacy also. I have sent a request that he respond to this thread. We will all know real soon.
 
What a phoney sounding email. It really sounds fake. I never would have fallen for something that transparent!
 
paramedicgirl said:
Yes. It has Karl Keating’s name on it, and it has CAF’s address, so I believe it is legit. 🙂
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Those things can be easily copied. I get very sophisticated “phishing” spam all the time with bank logos and the like. We had the same concern. My wife pointed out that the style or tone of the letter seemed a little different from what we ordinarily receive from the Forums. We tried to ask about it on Friday (I think), too, but no one ever responded. I am assuming now that this was a fradulent e-mai, but… if the Forum administrators are going to seek donations, they might want to find a safer approach than similar kinds of e-mail distribution. It could easily be used by a third party to acquire credit card information and other identity theft treasures.

There are a lot of Forum Members who are new to computers, and there really needs to be more of a concerted effort by the Forum Admin to educate those folks as to this kind of thing. I wonder how many people fell for it? I was tired and actually clicked the link before the warning bells sounded in my brain. 🙂
 
Well there’s nothing sophisticated about the above email. It’s poorly written by what it sounds to be adolecent boys.
 
This is a legit email from Karl. The system and security needed to ensure that a hack like this doesn’ happen again isn’t one we can go buy off the shelf. Nor is it one that would come free with your basic Windows package. The cost of such an undertaking also includes the many man hours. The software for the donations is on seperate system and is encrypted for the security of the donors and of those placing orders online.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to send me a pm.
 
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