To Our Readers

During the period of January 2016 through July 2018, Friends Publishing Corporation was the victim of financial fraud within our own offices. When we discovered it, we took immediate action to stop this and further malfeasance. We have taken affirmative steps to ensure that the individual associated with this fraud no longer has access to the business of our organization. An audit revealed that our losses were relatively minimal, or in the words of our accountant, “not material.” We have taken steps to improve our practices in order to try to prevent this in the future.

At the time of this fraud, the credit card or check information of some of our donors and subscribers was exposed to a possible risk of misuse. The purpose of this letter is to inform you about this. In consultation with our auditors, it is our understanding that the risk to you is low.

We have not discovered any misuse of our donors’ or subscribers’ financial information. We have advised the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies about this incident and have given those agencies a general report, alerting them to the fact that the incident occurred; however, we have not notified them about the presence of your specific information in the data breach.

We felt a responsibility to let you know about this risk no matter how small it may be. It is advised in such situations that you review your account statements for any suspicious activity. If you find anything questionable, contact the financial institution relevant to that account and take any appropriate next steps they recommend. We would appreciate you informing us of such concerns so we can then examine our records.

These types of incidents are unfortunately incredibly common. As a faith-based nonprofit organization, we were surprised when we became victims of financial fraud. We have experienced feelings of disappointment and betrayal. Please hold us in the Light as we endeavor to move past this and concentrate on our mission to communicate Quaker experience in order to connect and deepen spiritual lives.

We take very seriously our responsibility to safeguard the information you have given to us. Thank you for your continued support and trust in us, which we work hard every day to earn.

If you need more information, please contact either of us by email, or call Gabe Ehri at 215-563-8629. Contact information for the three largest nationwide consumer reporting agencies and the Federal Trade Commission may be found below.

In faith and service,

Dana Kester-McCabe
Clerk, Friends Publishing Corporation Board of Trustees. dana@moonshell.net

Gabriel Ehri
Executive Director.

ED@friendsjournal.org

Contact Information for the Three Largest U.S. Consumer Reporting Agencies and the Federal Trade Commission

Experian
Online: Experian Freeze Center
Phone: 1-888-397-3742
By mail, write to: Experian Security Freeze,  PO Box 9554,  Allen, TX 75013

Equifax
Online: Equifax Credit Report Services
Phone: 1-800-685-1111
By mail, write to: Equifax Information Services LLC, PO Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

TransUnion
Online: TransUnion Credit Freezes
Phone: 1-888-909-8872
By mail, write to: TransUnion LLC, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016

Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580

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